Building healthy relationships between toddlers and food
Babies are intuitive eaters and need the opportunity to expand their diets
Adrianna Smallwood’s toddler hated apples.
For most of his life, he would eat every other kind of fruit, but Smallwood couldn’t get him to eat apples. He even loved applesauce, but the fruit itself remained forbidden.
So, when Smallwood was baking muffins that included shredded apples, she asked him to put his most hated fruit into the food processor. He accepted the mission, then took a big bite.
“Can I have that, Mom?” he asked.
Now, the former apple-hater can’t get enough. Smallwood said her son changed his mind because he was involved in baking his favourite muffins that feature apples.
Smallwood is a registered dietician, the founder of Newfound Balance and a clinical dietician with Eastern Health in Newfoundland and Labrador. She has a fiveyear-old and an 18-monthold and is acquainted with the mealtime battles parents often face.
Smallwood said it comes down to having a little bit of patience and relinquishing some control.
“A child needs to be exposed to a food 15 to 20 times in order for their tastebuds to acclimate to the taste of that food,” she explained.
The two most common issues around feeding Smallwood sees are children who won’t eat a wide variety of food and those who hate specific textures. To level out the pickiness, Smallwood said offering a variety of foods is key. She suggested offering familiar food along with new food every day if possible. For example, if your toddler loves peanut butter sandwiches, prepare one to go with something new, like apple slices. She also advocates cooking with your child.
Her family has even gone one step further: they grow their own vegetables and her son takes part in the harvest. She said you can often find him in their greenhouse, nibbling on lettuce.
“Kids don’t want to eat things that they don’t know,” said Smallwood. “But, if they’re there helping prepare it or grow it and they’ve seen it from the beginning, then all of this exposure really helps them.”
The exposure can start sooner than toddlerhood. Smallwood discouraged parents from spoon-feeding their babies. Let them explore the food with their hands, then taste it themselves.
Smallwood also encouraged parents to keep offering foods that children don’t seem to like. Instead of giving up, offer the food in a different way. For example, if your toddler loves French toast one day, but hates it the next, try cutting it into strips or adding yogurt.
OPENING THE DOR
Danielle Farrell, a registered dietitian for Dominion stores across St. John’s and surrounding areas, described a method of feeding called the Division of Responsibility (DOR). According to Farrell, this method addresses most meal-time struggles.
Developed by Ellyn Satter, a dietician and family therapist, DOR offers clear roles for parents and children during mealtimes. Simply, the parent oversees what, where and when the child eats and the child oversees if and how much they eat.
“By remaining in control of when and where your child is eating, you are eliminating the snacking and grazing that may lead to a decreased appetite at mealtime,” she said via email.
“By controlling what they are eating, you are making it clear that there is only one meal or snack being offered — no special orders.”
Farrell said allowing a child to choose how much they eat can be hard, but parents should swallow statements like “one more bite.”
Healthy food relationships Ashley Power, owner of A Fit Mama in St. John’s, N.L., doesn’t have trouble feeding her two children.
“To be honest, we are very laid back about the whole process and I kind of believe that’s why we don’t have any issues,” she said.
Power has a two-year-old, a one-year-old and her third is due soon.
Like Smallwood, she tries making food fun for her kids through cooking. She also removes the pressure of eating everything on the plate.
In her house, supper is between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. If her kids won’t eat at 5:30, they simply come back to the meal at 6:30. Her toddler also eats whatever she and her partner are eating.
She advised not making food a major issue in a negative or positive way. For her family, this translates to resisting the urge to praise their kids when they eat and not getting mad when they don’t.
She hopes their laid-back approach will help her kids develop healthy relationships with food and body image as they grow up.
To nurture those positive relationships, Smallwood cautioned against using negative words about food. Instead, she suggests phrases like ‘sometimes food’ or ‘special occasion food.’
“If you make it a food that they’re allowed to have and it’s just for special occasions, it makes the food fun,” she said.