9 Steps to Raise an Intuitive Eater
Continue serving a variety of foods, even if your child doesn’t eat them. When serving new foods, make sure there are 2 familiar foods on plate. Exposure to all foods is so important to keep an open minded eater! IRL story: we served my son broccoli for about 5 months before he ever took a bite. Then, all of a sudden he ate only broccoli on the plate and left behind pasta (one of his usual go-to foods). It is amazing what can happen if you continue exposure of foods.
Avoid the “if you eat this, then you can eat that” game. Instead of, “you can only have dessert if you have dinner” maybe you add dessert to the plate with the rest of their dinner and let your child eat all of the items how they want. Often times when we don’t make food out to seem “special” your child' will be able to moderate him/herself beautifully.
Use neutral language with labeling food. Avoid terms like “junk food,” “healthy food”, as this inherently teaches them that some foods are “better” than “others.” Yes, different food provides us with different things, but one is not necessarily better than the other. I like to say nutrient dense foods and fun foods instead.
Allowing all food. We know that restriction only leads to the restricted food seeming more attractive. You end up making the very food you are trying to get them to avoid seem much more desirable.
Teach body gratitude when possible. Talk about what your body does with neutral language. I love this book as a great place to begin.
Don’t comment negatively about your child’s body or any bodies (including yourself) in front of them. Again, this is helping them to see their worth outside of their body, which can be helpful for developing positive body image and identity.
Avoid commenting on how your child eats. For example, if they don’t eat a certain food on their plate, you don’t need to declare “Jesse doesn’t like broccoli” or “Jesse is so picky.” Instead, don’t say anything and continue serving it. Often times when we declare what our child likes or doesn’t like, it can lead to them becoming pickier and not actually eating the food.
Honor the Division of Responsibility. I talk about this framework a lot - what it entails is parent’s responsibility is to be in charge of time which child eats, what is on the plate, and how much. The child is responsible for what and how much they consume. Avoid forceful bites or telling them to finish this to have that.
Overall, one of the best things you can do for your child to become an intuitive eater, is work on your own relationship with food so you feel confident in doing all the above for yourself. Reach out to schedule your discovery call today!
