This document provides guidance for parents on creating healthy eating habits in children through family meals. It emphasizes that family meals where no distractions are present are important for children's nutrition, school performance, and avoiding risky behaviors. The document outlines responsibilities for parents, such as providing a variety of healthy foods, versus responsibilities that belong to children, like deciding how much to eat. It encourages letting children help in the kitchen and make choices to develop independence and trust around food. The goal is to establish regular meal and snack times with a balance of "growing" and "fun" foods so children's natural appetites are followed.

1. Creating Healthy
Eaters
Beverly Pressey, MS,RD,
Mom

2. Learn to Enjoy Eating with your
Children
 Family meals are important
 Family meal defined:
 Everyone present
 NO: TV, telephones, books, magazines, radio
 Any meal of the day, any time of the day

3. Why are Family Meals
Important
 Studies have shown that children who eat
3 or more meals with their family:
 Better nutrition from home meals
 Better food choices away from home
 Better grades in school
 Less likely of abuse alcohol and drugs
 Have greater self esteem

4. Detriments to Family Meals
 Preparation: shopping
 Cooking and clean-up
 Frustration: deciding what to prepare to
keep everyone happy
 Arguing: trying to get your kids to eat

5. Selecting What to Prepare
 It’s your job to decide what to offer at
meals and offer it in an appropriate and
inviting manner.
 By offering food-you have done your job.

6. The Two Food Groups:
 Those the help you grow big and strong or
growing foods
 Those that are fun

7. Growing Foods
 Fruits and Vegetables
 Meats, cheese, nuts, beans, fish, eggs,
tofu
 Whole grain foods
 Unprocessed food

8. Fun Foods
 White flour bread and snack foods
 Fried foods
 High sugar foods: candy, juice
 Most baked goods
 High salt foods

9. Other Adult Responsibilities
 Letting children help prepare meals.
 Require an appropriate level of table
manners.
 Supplying appropriate table setting and
eating environment.
 Offer food regularly, every 1.5-2.5 hours.

10. Not Your Job:
 How much food a child eats.
 What order food is eaten.
 Whether a child eats or not.
 Bribing, rewarding, cajoling or tricking a child to
eat.
THESE ARE YOUR CHILD’S JOB
Don’t be an over achiever!

11. Give your Child Responsibility
 Serve themselves when they are able.
 Chose to eat or not.
 Realize the consequences of their
decisions.

12. Trust your Child, Show them that
You Trust Them.
 Let them keep their natural ability to know
when they are hungry and sated (full).
 0-1years: feed on demand
 1 year-until they move out: Continue to follow
their lead

13. Offering Fun Food
 When and how much is up to you.
 Let the child know that this is fun food so
they will only be allowed a certain amount.
 Always serve a growing food with a fun
food so a child can eat to satiety at every
meal or snack.

14. Children Will Not Over or Under Eat
 IF:
 They are offered regular meals and snacks of
a variety of healthy foods.
 They are not constantly and continuously
encouraged to eat after they have shown they
are finished eating.

15. You Control Timing of Meals and
Snacks
 A hungry child is a motivated eater.
 Motivated eaters:
 Eat
 Are more likely to try new foods

16. If Your Child Chooses Not to Eat
 That is their choice.
 Remind them that there will be no more
food until…
 They will not starve or have any nutritional
deficiencies.

17. You Will Not:
 Become a short order cook.
 Give into begging for food directly after
food was offered.
 Yell, threaten, bribe or punish.

18. “I’m hungry”
 “I would be hungry too if I didn’t eat
anything for dinner.
 “I would be hungry too if I only ate a
cookie for dinner.”

19. Snacks vs. Meals
 Nutrition at snacks and meals should be
equal, because your child doesn’t know
the difference between a meal and a
snack.
 If meals and snacks before dinner are
mostly fun foods, you are now determined
to get your child to eat dinner.

20. Dessert
 Whether a dessert is a fun food or a good
and good for you food, it should be offered
to a child whether they ate or not.

21. milk
 A child 1 or over only needs 2 cups of milk
a day.
 You do not need to serve milk with every
meal.
 Always offer water for thirst after the cup
of milk is gone.

22. protein
 Many young children don’t like meat.
 Children don’t need a large portion of a
protein food at each meal, there is some
protein in all foods except fruits.
 Children ages 1-3 need 16 grams for
protein, they receive 14 grams from 2
cups of milk.

23. Beverly Pressey,MS, RD, Mom
 Consultations, speaking, 1-1 counseling
 Author: Simple and Savvy Strategies for
Creating Healthy Meals
 Contact at:
 PracticalFamilyNutrition.com