𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑⁣
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I’ll gladly be a broken record with this one- but I can’t emphasise the importance & benefit enough of sitting together & role modelling eating, feeding skills & behaviours! It’s essential in managing children’s eating & there seems to be more time for meals together at the moment, so make hay whilst the sun shines! ⁣
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𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐋⁣

With less opportunity to shop & more careful planning with meals why not try to get into a habit of making just one main family meal at least once per day (rather than everyone’s favourites!) – this combines family meal benefits (above) with experience & exposure (below)⁣
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𝐁𝐄 𝐀 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌⁣
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Get consistency with parent & family approach to managing feeding⁣
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Has it become apparent that there is good cop & bad cop when it comes to your LOs eating? One of you topping up with preferred foods or chasing around with a spoon due to worries about food refusal & the other trying to stick with a clear routine ? I hear this one a lot, so use this time to get a consistent, unified response, plan & approach to feeding so your child has consistency (which is key to change)⁣
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𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐍𝐄𝗪 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐒 ⁣
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Maybe you’ve had to deviate from your usual essentials, or have struggled to get your child’s preferred foods. Don’t panic! Use this opportunity for EXPOSURE to less familiar foods-yes they might be rejected & not eaten but repeated exposure to food is often essential on the journey to acceptance (which may take 15-20+ exposures- but you have to start somewhere!). Exposure isn’t just eating either – remember it’s looking, touching, smelling…using all those senses we have are essential for feeding!⁣
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𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝗪𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐒 𝐀𝗪𝐀𝐘 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 ⁣
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Take away some of the pressure of eating less familiar foods but allowing children to gain experience with foods away from the dinner table. Activities like; drawing foods, watching cookery TV (excuse for Saturday kitchen), cooking, baking, chopping, playing ready steady cook, growing fruit or veg in pots.

𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐒⁣
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There’s no doubt it’s a stressful time at the moment but lots of parents have told me how useful it’s also been for reflection. Reflecting on your approach at the dinner table can be hard & shouldn’t be judgemental (but it can be beneficial), ask yourself questions like:⁣
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“𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘳 force?”⁣
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“𝘋𝘰 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨?”⁣
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“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥…”⁣
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“ 𝘈𝘮 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 & 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦?”⁣

𝘈𝘯𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨? Get in touch – book a call or via chat !!

Lucy Upton RD – Dietetic Lead