This is part of an ongoing series on moderation. It’s in preparation for my next book and includes expert interviews, the latest research and expert tips. Sign up for my updates to get these posts and subscriber discounts including FREE e-book offers.
Have you ever thought about your family’s unique food culture? Does everyone enjoy eating a variety of foods? Are meals peaceful or a point of contention? Does everyone feel like they are getting enough to eat or is there lots of complaining and even negotiating? Is nutritional food scoffed at or embraced?
I never really thought much about “family food culture” until I spoke with Megrette Fletcher M.Ed., R.D., CDE, registered dietitian, diabetes educator, and mindful eating expert. She is author of Discover Mindful Eating for Kids, blogs at Mindful Eating for Kids and is co-founder of The Center for Mindful Eating.
There seems to be many different definitions for mindfulness but I’ve always viewed it as being aware without judgment. “It’s just trying to bring yourself to the present moment with no other goals,” Fletcher says. She uses the example of a child’s eating. When being mindful you don’t care if they eat the broccoli or not, you just want to know their experience of the broccoli. Mindful eating is simply bringing mindfulness to the eating experience.
Mindfulness is especially helpful in solving problems because it helps you see things as they really are, instead of through the distorted lens of good or bad. For example, once you have deemed your child’s not eating broccoli as “bad,” you are more likely to react instead of just accepting it. Fletcher explains that with this type of awareness, people are better equipped to make good choices.
So today, with help from Megrette Fletcher, we are using a simple, 4-step mindful strategy to transform your family’s food culture. (more…)
Does this book have help with selective eating in children?
I think it could help any child. The activities help children tune into their experience with food including hunger and fullness and nutrition, which includes exploring new food. The activities are set up by age, so you wouldn’t want to do an activity that isn’t age appropriate.
Hi Maryann,
I’ve got a 2 year old and feeding him has been the most challenging thing I’ve ever done in my life! It’s an ongoing journey with that presents different challenges day after day.
I randomly found your site last night and haven’t stopped reading! Unlike all the advice I’ve read before, your posts gave me a very practical and educational insight. I’ll be coming back regularly, that’s for sure!
I’d like to share my current struggle with you. At the moment, the hardest part is attempting to keep my child in a sitting position. He’s got one of those”grow with the child” chairs which we use without the tray (nor any restraint). He keeps standing, wriggling, moving up and down, pushing with his feet and doing all sorts of random movements. I get pretty nervous because we’ve got a concrete floor and I can see him slipping down, hitting his head in the table first and smashing the floor next. I try and remain calm and explain how chairs are for sitting, but it’s clearly not working. Every now and then I loose my patience, grab him and put him on the floor saying something like “ok, we eat sitting down, if you don’t want to remain seated, go and play while we finish our dinner”. Is there anything you could think I can do to change our pattern?
Thanks for your advice and congratulations on your work.