Do your kids wriggle and fidget at the dinner table? It’s often more than food choice that determines how settled children are at the table. A child who just won’t sit still can put the whole family off their dinner.
Here are my 5 top tips for getting kids to fidget less and focus more at mealtimes…
“Get ready to eat” routine
Provide your child with a familiar 2-3 step routine to get them ready to get ready to eat. Some children need time to transition from whatever activity they were doing to eating.
For example:
Step 1 – Wash hands
Step 2 – Shake our sillies out on the way to the table (stomp like dinosaur, bear crawls or your choice)
Step 3 – Lay their placemat down
Step 4 – Sit and eat
Eat with your kids
It is a rare child who remains focused when eating by themselves. Kids ALWAYS eat better when a parent or responsible adult/carer shares the meal time with them. Eat with your kids as often as you can, or at the very least sit with them.
No grazing
Don’t allow children to graze on food between meals and snacks or wander around the house holding their snack. Make children sit to eat.
Shorter meal times
Kids to their most effective eating in the first 5-10 minutes of a meal or snack time. Even most slow eaters will pretty much have most of their eating done in the first 20 minutes. Watch for signals from your kids that tell you they’ve had enough to eat… if in doubt, ask “Is your tummy still hungry or is it full?”
Comfortable seating
Poor seating causes wriggle-mania! Most adult dining chairs are highly uncomfortable for young children to sit on, even up to 7 years of age or older. They don’t have good back support or foot support and they’re usually too low to the table. Children should not need to sit on their feet to reach their food! Modify your dining chair if you can or invest in an adjustable child’s chair to suit your table.
Wishing you all wriggle-free dinners this week.
Eat happy!
Deb Blakley
Accredited Practising Dietitian & Director
