KNOWING what to feed your child and how to approach meal times can be a challenge for many parents.
To give you a helping hand, we spoke to Charlotte Stirling-Reed, founder of Charlotte Stirling-Reed, The Baby & Child Nutritionist and Author of How To Wean Your Baby and How to Feed Your Toddler, to get her tips and tricks on tackling meal times with children.
The child nutritionist explained to us the things she avoids giving to her children and the things she would never make them do.
Charlotte explained: “When it comes to nutrition, I always like to say that food and children’s health is not a black or white circumstance.
“It’s unlikely that the things you do or offer on occasion are going to lead to negative eating patterns or even negative health effects in the long term.
“Learning how to enjoy foods takes time and it’s important to know that what you do regularly and over time is what really matters for raising children who enjoy their food.
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“So try not to worry about the minor details of feeding your kids and look at what happens the majority of the time, rather than meal to meal.
“Having said that, there are a few things that I try to avoid (never say never) doing and offering REGULARLY to my two toddlers at home.”
No to dried fruits as snacks
You might think that dried fruit is a good snack to give your child, but Charlotte actually avoids giving dried fruits to her children, unless they are accompanied by something else.
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Charlotte explained: “I avoid offering dried fruits as snacks or on their own.
“Dried fruits stick into tiny teeth REALLY easily and aren’t ideal from a dental health perspective.
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“However dried fruits CAN offer a delicious and nutrient dense option for little kids, so HOW you offer them is really what matters.
“At home (or out and about, I make sure that I only offer dried fruits as part of a meal or as part of a snack (and ideally finishing the meal/snack off with a tooth friendly drink too) is a much better way to serve them, which will help to limit any impact on the teeth.”
No to fizzy and sweet drinks
While some parents may give their child a fizzy drink or a sweet drink to tickle their taste buds, according to Charlotte, this is something that should be avoided.
The child nutritionist said: “I avoid giving my two fizzy or soft/sweet drinks – this is one thing I’ve been really careful with as there is a lot of research that shows in the UK soft drinks are one of the main sources of free sugars in young children’s diets.
“They are also not ideal for dental health, and can lead to excess calorie intakes in children.
“From my work as a Nutritionist, I’ve also seen all too often that as soon as soft and sweet liquids are introduced (again regularly rather than just as a one-off option) water becomes dull and boring in little ones’ eyes and is often rejected as a result.
“Water is all we need to hydrate our little ones, and I’m not a fan of drinking calories too often.
“Having said that, my two do have the odd glass of juice or squash, but it’s generally not at home, it’s not the norm and water is ALWAYS their main source of hydration!”
Ignore the savoury before sweet rule
It’s something that many parents do, but Charlotte doesn’t – she never makes her children eat their savoury food before their sweet.
Charlotte continued: “It’s still so common for childcare providers and society to have this idea that we “must eat our sandwiches before eating anything sweet”.
“But, actually this idea just highlights to kids that the sandwich is less good and less desirable than the sweet stuff that’s coming as the reward at the end.
“With my two I let their appetites lead their mealtimes and offer sweet and savoury foods together.
“Four years on, both of them will tap into sweet and savoury often indiscriminately throughout the meal.
“It’s all just dependent on what they feel like in the moment.
“That’s allowing them to listen to their intuition instead of societal norms when it comes to their food choices.”
They don’t need to stay at the table
While many parents will force their young children to stay at the table until everyone has eaten, Charlotte doesn’t abide by this and lets her children leave when they like.
Charlotte concluded: “I don’t make them stay at the table when they want to get down.
“A lot of parents may be horrified by this, but actually keeping kids at the table when they REALLY don’t want to be there is more likely to have a negative impact on their feelings around mealtimes, eating together and family meals than is it so positively teach them “manners” in the long run.
“Young kids have short attention spans and keeping them at the table long after they are bored isn’t ideal.
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“As they get older (or even when they are hungry enough and have learnt the joy of food) they’ll probably have more of a desire to stay at the table for longer.
“Forcing them isn’t going to make them want to be there in the long-run.”
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