-what boundaries must be "enforced" when it comes to my kids consuming foods that I consider inappropriate? How do I decide how much of what is acceptable and do I make it a clear rule, or is it always open for discussion?
I will add that the way Ms. Satter addresses these issues in her books is to say that it is up to the parent to choose the food and how much of it go give to the child. It is up to the child to decide when to eat and how much. The key is putting something at each meal that you know your child will like and eat. That may vary from day to day so you may have to ask your child, would you like beans or peas, knowing he will most likely pick one. Then, you put out the food and it is up to him to eat what he chooses. You do not prepare different meals from everyone else. But, if you know for sure that your children are not going to eat foods all combined together, then prepare them separately for your child. Example: I just make a huge pot of minestrone soup. My nearly 3 year old will not eat soup. So, I separated some of the beans (which she loves) aside while cooking and put that in the fridge for her. She got a bowl of beans with parmesan cheese for dinner while dh and I had our soup with parmesan cheese. I also set aside some of the carrots for her to eat raw since I know she will not eat them cooked. (There are carrots in the soup) She also had some of the wheat bread we all had with dinner. See? She got a healthy dinner but I did not have to prepare a different meal.
As for deciding what is acceptable and how much of it to eat, well again it is up to you to make that decision. For example, my child loves Goldfish crackers. She would eat a whole box if allowed. So, I only buy them once in a while. I give her a handful or so once or twice a day and I don't worry that she is eating relatively a lot of that because I only buy them once in a while. And, I think of her nutrition over the course of a week, not a day. The philosophy behind the last sentence comes from Satter's books. She says that little ones eat a lot one day and not so much for the next day or two or maybe they eat a lot three days in a row.......They just don't eat as regularly as we adults do so why should we regulate their meals the same way we do ours?
Anyway, read the books. Child of mine came first, I think, but they are both awesome! They are must haves for every GD healthy eating family.
I will add that the way Ms. Satter addresses these issues in her books is to say that it is up to the parent to choose the food and how much of it go give to the child. It is up to the child to decide when to eat and how much. The key is putting something at each meal that you know your child will like and eat. That may vary from day to day so you may have to ask your child, would you like beans or peas, knowing he will most likely pick one. Then, you put out the food and it is up to him to eat what he chooses. You do not prepare different meals from everyone else. But, if you know for sure that your children are not going to eat foods all combined together, then prepare them separately for your child. Example: I just make a huge pot of minestrone soup. My nearly 3 year old will not eat soup. So, I separated some of the beans (which she loves) aside while cooking and put that in the fridge for her. She got a bowl of beans with parmesan cheese for dinner while dh and I had our soup with parmesan cheese. I also set aside some of the carrots for her to eat raw since I know she will not eat them cooked. (There are carrots in the soup) She also had some of the wheat bread we all had with dinner. See? She got a healthy dinner but I did not have to prepare a different meal.
As for deciding what is acceptable and how much of it to eat, well again it is up to you to make that decision. For example, my child loves Goldfish crackers. She would eat a whole box if allowed. So, I only buy them once in a while. I give her a handful or so once or twice a day and I don't worry that she is eating relatively a lot of that because I only buy them once in a while. And, I think of her nutrition over the course of a week, not a day. The philosophy behind the last sentence comes from Satter's books. She says that little ones eat a lot one day and not so much for the next day or two or maybe they eat a lot three days in a row.......They just don't eat as regularly as we adults do so why should we regulate their meals the same way we do ours?
Anyway, read the books. Child of mine came first, I think, but they are both awesome! They are must haves for every GD healthy eating family.
This is aggravating to us. We have handled it by being slightly more proactive about encouraging her to eat at dinner, but so much less so than most people do that I don't even think most people would perceive it as anything at all, if that makes sense. (Basically we just offer a few more times and offer a few more options. This is out of the norm since we normally completely follow her lead.)
