How to Empower Kids in The Kitchen & at the Dinner Table
Dear Parents,
First of all, full disclosure- I am not a parent myself so I cannot completely understand all the amazing things that you do or all the struggles you go through on a day to day basis. I am, however, truly passionate about cultivating positive experiences in the kitchen and teaching kids about the power of food from a young age.
Teaching your children to be comfortable around food is one of the best gifts you can give them. A child that is comfortable in the kitchen is more confident, has a creative outlet, and doesn’t have to rely on freezer meals when they go to college.
That being said please read below. You can also find out more about my journey in the kitchen at the bottom.
You care about your child’s health, so it can be super frustrating when they refuse to eat any vegetables and instead only want a hot dog or chicken nuggets for dinner. Your primary concern may be that your child isn’t getting enough of the nutrients needed for growth. You stress, bribe, bargain… It becomes a power struggle at the dinner table.
But beware- your way of helping your child grows up to be big and strong may actually be damaging their relationship with food and having an unhealthy relationship with food will impact their lives much more than if they finished their whole serving of broccoli.
To help your child develop a healthy relationship with food, try new foods, and avoid dinnertime rows, here is what you should know.
Children learn most by mimicking what they see around them.
This one seems obvious but is worth stating. If you aren’t going to eat balanced meals at regular intervals how can you expect your child to? Studies have shown that fruit and vegetable consumption in children is influenced by parent consumption.
Eating is a shared responsibility.
Research finds that sharing responsibility with your child about what and how much he or she eats is the most effective approach.
It’s the role of parents/grandparents/teachers/mentors to provide enjoyable food and cultivate an atmosphere that supports pleasure in eating. It’s the child’s responsibility to decide whether she or he wants to eat and how much.
We are born with an innate sense of knowing how much we need to eat to fuel our bodies. Often times as we grow we lose that connection to our bodies due to external stimulus telling us different. For example, you may have been told as a child to be part of the ‘clean plate club.’ This message encourages you to eat past the feeling of full and becomes a habit that is continued into adulthood.
Exposure is key.
The best practice to encourage kids to grow up eating a healthy variety of foods is exposing them to those foods. This isn’t to say that your child won’t love fast food or junk food, but they are more likely to develop a balance. There is no need to ban junk food either, deprivation won’t do anything but make those foods more enticing- strive to have a tasty balance.
Don’t worry if your child doesn’t immediately take a liking to broccoli either! It takes multiple exposures and tastes to some foods to develop a liking for them.
According to a 2004 study, more than 90% of caregivers offered kids food they did not like only three to five times before giving up. The issue with that is that a little more persistence can pay off. Studies have shown that toddlers can be made to like a new food by introducing it 5-10 times. Kids aged 3-4 may need to try it 15 times before developing a taste for it.
Get them involved in the kitchen.
Getting your child to initially try some of those healthy foods may have you feeling frustrated. Children are often hesitant to try new things- this is normal and pressuring your child to try brussel sprouts the first time they have ever seen them may backfire! The best way to get them to try is to have them help preparing them. Peak their interest and curiosity. One of my favorite things as a cooking instructor is when I have a parent come up to me after and say, “My child is usually so picky, but they loved everything we made today!” I cannot tell you how many times this has happened at one of my classes and each time it’s amazing to hear!
Still at a loss as to what to do next? Try these activities to expand those taste buds:
Tasting Tray
Pick a few food items that your child has been hesitant to try. Cut up these foods into very small bites- if they taste it and like it they can always have more! Putting small bites on the plate will reassure your picky eater that a taste is really all that you are asking them to do. One way to serve this is in an ice cube tray or a paint tray.
Don’t force your child to take a bite if they are very resistant to it, instead ask them to pick it up and observe it. As them to take in the colors, texture, and smells.
If they are brave they can taste it, if they don’t like it ask them to politely spit it out in a napkin.
Edible Food Tower
All you need is some toothpicks and a few items that your child has been resistant to or unfamiliar with. Give your child the toothpicks and food and let their creativity take over creating a tower! This activity takes the pressure off of them trying the food and instead lets them focus on getting familiar with the sight, smell, and feel of the food. If they end up wanting to have a small bite-great!
A little bit more about me and my own journey in the kitchen
As well as being a Registered Dietitian, I am a regular instructor at the Culinary Center of Kansas City. A majority of the classes I teach as kids classes with ages ranging from 2 to 8.
My own passion for cooking & baking came from my mom, who encouraged me to try any recipe (and didn’t mind a little mess in the kitchen).
This line is in my instructor bio and read out before every kids class I teach at the Culinary Center. Each time it makes me smile and hope that all the kids there with their parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, friends, etc. can have the same experience. This is made even better when my mom comes to a class to help out and can keep paying it forward.
That’s not to say it has been all successes in the kitchen! I distinctly remember the first time I set out to make chocolate chip cookies by myself (every other time had been with an adult). I got all the ingredients I needed out, mixed everything together, baked them to perfection, and when they were done took a bite and they were horrible! I was like what did I do?! I went back and looked at the recipe…turns out I mixed up some of the ingredients and measurements and put about a cup of baking soda in instead of sugar. Learned my lesson to read a recipe carefully that day when baking 🙂
Since that failed recipe (and a few others) I have taught over 100 nutrition and cooking classes to adults & kids in the Kansas City area. These classes have probably taught me more than I’ve taught participants. I’ve been able to see how powerful it can be for kids to have autonomy and make something for themselves. Or the kids that bites into something and realizes that they actually like it! As a dietitian we learn a lot about how food impacts our bodies in school, but to me food’s impact is so much more than physiological. It can be used as a form of therapy. It can connect people, allow a creative outlet, inspire, and so much more.
If you want to learn more about me and my food philosophy and what is happening in my cooking classes check out my website, thetastybalance.com and follow me on Instagram @thetastybalancedietitian.
