ParentingHub

Your pre-schooler takes initiative. He has a great deal of energy and now takes on new tasks and activities for the sake of being active and on the move. The pre-schooler unlike the toddler is more interested in learning than asserting his independence and he wants to achieve in all areas of his life including eating. Your pre-schooler will be more interested in starting tasks than finishing them. When he is hungry he will attend strictly to his eating but when he gets full, he completely loses interest in eating. Rather than learning about new food strictly by trial and error, he can talk about it, cook it, and study it. As a consequence he is less suspicious of new food and is more ready to taste it than when he was a toddler. It may still take many tastes before he learns that he likes it. The pre-schooler will eat well if the table is a pleasant place to be. He will make mountains out of mashed potatoes, create roads out of his beans and have some unique ways with his eating. He is not trying to make you angry; rather he is just being himself.

Some tips when it comes to pre-schoolers:

1. Have structured meals and snacks
Eat with your child don’t feed him! Your pre-schooler loves you and wants to be with you. Certainly he is hungry and needs to eat, but he is far more interested in your attention and companionship than in the food.

2. Make Mealtimes pleasant
Turn off the television. Family mealtime is for connecting with each other, and if the television in on you won’t be able to connect. Include your child in the mealtime conversation, but don’t make him the centre of attention. Conversation with your pre-schooler will give you a glimpse into his delightful mind.

3. Teach your child to behave at mealtimes

4. Be realistic about mealtime etiquette.

5. Your child will eat what he needs.

Trust your child’s capabilities with eating. If you do your part with feeding, your child will eat. Given the support of regular and predictable meals and snacks, your child will come to the table hungry and eat with focus and attention until he is full.

References;
Feeding sense, Kath Megaw et al. (Metz press 2010)
Child of Mine, Ellyn Satter