The “clean plate club” is a common phenomenon among American households which encourages children to finish the entirety of their meals and to ensure proper nutrition. However, can this idea of having to always eat everything on your plate be harmful when trying to build healthy habits in children? Perhaps a better approach to building healthy eating habits in children is to practice something known as intuitive eating. This approach to diet and nutrition emphasizes trusting your body in its hunger and fullness cues to determine when, what, and how much to eat. Every individual starts off practicing intuitive eating when suckling from their mother or receiving formula, but once children reach the age of two, respecting natural hunger and fullness cues is heavily influenced by the environment the child lives in.
Children will mould their eating habits based on what they are subjected to whether it be observing someone else’s eating habits, TV commercials, boredom, or coping. It is crucial during childhood years for children to develop a positive relationship with food and practicing intuitive eating can kickstart the route to independence by getting to have control over food choices.
Parents are encouraged to promote and assist children to eat intuitively by keeping nutritious food in the home, but allowing the child to pick which of those nutritious foods they would like to eat. Intuitive eating relies on listening to the body’s hunger cues so make sure to allow the child to say when they are full rather than forcing them to finish the entire plate and letting them eat more than you may have expected at times. Parents can be a great role model when it comes to intuitive eating by sharing meals often with their children and practicing what you are preaching-listening to hunger cues and enjoying sharing the meal with them.
As parents you can make yourself feel empowered by setting your child up for success in their relationship with food through intuitive eating while empowering your child at the same time when it comes to making food choices that are appropriate for them.
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Marissa Robarge
UConn KIDS Research Assistant