Hi there, it's Finley, and Happy Friday to almost 400 parents this week.
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I'm a grown man but I still have a deep hatred for one very specific food.
I detest green beans.
The site. The smell. The taste. The texture. I hate them with the energy of 10,000 suns.
My wife loves them. I don't care.
My friends say I've never had them cooked properly. That's false too.
Why do I despise them so much? Well, because my parents forced me to eat them as a child.
Today we laugh about it all but I have deep emotional wounds from eating them as a young child (ok, that's pretty overstated).
But what about you? Do you have food fights and struggles with your children at home? It is common in more homes than you might realize.
Parents feel all kinds of pressure, feeding their children every day.
My wife and I run a fitness membership for women called B•TRIBAL•FIT.
We have also coached couples, helping them overhaul their food habits for their family. One of our major influences has been Precision Nutrition and their deep health approach.
The following ideas are how they suggest parents help fight nutrition anxiety in kids.
We struggled to help our kids eat in a more nutritious way for years! We've had fights and tears. Sent kids to bed hungry and fixed three dinners in one night. We got some right and a lot wrong.
But, seeing our kids food choices now as high school and college students, I'm happy for the investment we made, but it wasn't without a lot of struggle.
Do you experience family food fights? Write me back and I'd love to hear more.
Making it clear who gets to decide what takes some confusion out of food planning and mealtime. It also gives kids some needed sense of autonomy.
Parents:
Kids:
*these change with age as your child gains more personal autonomy
Just like kids copy your words, they also mimic your behavior. They even pay more attention to what you show than what you say. So, explore your own attitude and decisions around food.
Healthy demonstration:
Make sure kids feel safe to communicate worries and anxiety around food. There is often fear about trying something new because of the unknown. Security is a #1 priority for kids and the idea of bad or gross food creates mental insecurity.
Reasons for uncomfortable food feelings:
Kids are more likely to embrace good food choices if they know why it matters and if it's delivered in a way that is relevant to them.
Educate them:
Sometimes picky eating is less about food than control. Asking for kids' ideas ensures you'll buy food they like, plus it gives them a sense of contribution.
Try asking:
Talking about foods in terms of "good" and "bad" complicates a persons relationship with food. It can lead to shame, performance, and approval seeking.
Instead of labeling, try:
Families eat A LOT of meals together... so go ahead and throw out the "perfect family meal" expectation. Colorful plates, everyone getting along, and eating at a set dinner time can happen. But hoping it will always happen is silly. Roll with change, keep it as a family value and it will balance over time.
Real life is:
**Let each of your kids select ONE veggie that they have a lifetime ban on. They get to choose it, declare it and then never have to eat it if it's served to them.
If they ever discover they hate something more then they may choose change, however they have to eat a bowl of their previously banned veggie in a declaration of their new allegiance.
I got this idea from Jon Acuff off a podcast once and loved it.
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Helping propel moms & dads of 3 to 13 year-olds to invest in their power-decade of parenting. Father of 3 teenagers and pastor of 20 years turned digital writer.
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