How to create healthy eating habits

[Honey693]

I'm wondering if I'm doing this food thing right with DD. She's 16 months and some days eats like a linebacker, other days eats next to nothing. DH and I were both members of the clean plate club as kids and I do not want to go there with DD. Right now I make her plate, if she eats it fine, if not I try to get her to at least take a bite. If she still doesn't want it, fine, she can have snacks later. She's gotten pretty good with asking for snacks (she's too short to reach anything or open the fridge) and will generally give me whatever she was eating if she doesn't want to finish it. If I offer food and she doesn't want it she'll freak out on me and throw it on the floor. Is this normal for a toddler? After reading some other threads on food I'm really starting to freak out over messing DD's eating habits up.

[MountainMamaGC]

I just offer DD food and if she eats its great, and if not then thats ok too. Sometimes she gets food aversions, but I keep offering and I let her decide what portions of what she wants. Some days she picks like a bird and others she asks for seconds. I offer her snacks through out the day of fruit or grain crackers w/ nut butter so if she doesnt eat she will have oppotunity later. One week she wont touch a veggie the next week she is gobbling them down. I just dont make an issue of it because I dont want it to be a power struggle between us. As long as you are offering healthy food, they will have no choice but to eat it. I also dont let her drink too many calories so she tends to have a bigger appetite.

[azzeps]

I don't have time to type it out, so I copied and pasted, but we are using Ellyn Satter's method of feeding (www.ellynsatter.com). DD is almost 2 and is a very good eater. But we don't tell her that!

Here is from her website, and I highly recommend her book, Child of Mine:

The Division of Responsibility For Toddlers through Adolescents:

* The parent is responsible for what, when, where
* The child is responsible for how much and whether

Parents' Feeding Jobs:

* Choose and prepare the food
* Provide regular meals and snacks
* Make eating times pleasant
* Show children what they have to learn about food and mealtime behavior
* Not let children graze for food or beverages between meal and snack times
* Let children grow up to get bodies that are right for them

Fundamental to parents’ jobs is trusting children to decide how much and whether to eat. If parents do their jobs with feeding, children will do their jobs with eating:

* Children will eat
* They will eat the amount they need
* They will learn to eat the food their parents eat
* They will grow predictably
* They will learn to behave well at the table

© 2007 Ellyn Satter. For a further explanation of the division of responsibility, see any of Ellyn Satter's four books; Your Child’s Weight: Helping Without Harming, Child of Mine: Feeding With Love and Good Sense, Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family, or How To Get Your Kid To Eat... But Not Too Much. May be reproduced for free distribution only. May not be modified in any way. Credit and further information lines must appear on each copy. For information on Ellyn Satter’s materials and programs, see www.EllynSatter.com or call 800-808-7976.