22 Feb Avoiding toddler tantrums at meal-times
by Charlotte Stirling-Reed, Baby and Child Nutritionist and published author who is one of the expert speakers at The Baby Show at London Excel in March speak about toddler tantrums at meal times.
Try and make those mealtimes fun – find ways to engage your toddler and help them enjoy mealtimes with you. The more they want to be at the table the more you’ll find that they are happy to be there.
Don’t draw attention to the tantrums – focus more on positive behaviour and enjoyment around the table!
Keep it light – try and play some calming music & avoid the stressful food prep before as much as you can so mealtimes are started in a good frame of mind.
Avoid a focus on the food – sometimes focusing on the food & putting pressure on your little ones to “eat up” can have the opposite effect. So try and talk about other topics & engage your little ones in conversations they’ll enjoy.
Avoid mealtime battles – if the mealtime becomes fraught, it’s time to end them. Avoid keeping little ones at the table when they are upset – it might have a knock-on effect for the next meal!
Eat together
Simple but often challenging, this is the biggest bad habit we are all guilty of. Aim to sit and eat together whenever possible as the first step to healthy, happy mealtimes! Babies and children learn the skills of eating, social skills and even what foods they enjoy by first copying others. Even before they are having solid foods, to start getting them used to the idea of “mealtimes” and to allow them to learn about food and eating from watching those around them. I recommend the Tripp Trapp high chair by Stokke as it fits nice and is close to the table like a normal chair.
Charlotte Stirling-Reed will be speaking on the Live Talks Stage at www.thebabyshow.co.uk taking place 4-6 March at London Excel. The UK’s Leading Baby & Parenting Shows in London ExCel, London Olympia, and the Birmingham NEC. Everything for Bump, Baby & You Under One Roof.