Relaxed, and Well Rounded, Meal Times Within Reach
Who among us hasn’t asked the loaded question: Do my kids eat healthy enough? First, define healthy; then, define enough, right? From birth, our kids' systems are constantly encountering new diseases, and fighting them to build future immunity. While early stage passive immunity and breastfeeding up until 6 months of age can help support infants' immune systems, once kids start on solids, nutrition is key to developing and maintaining protection as they grow.
This makes meal time critically important, and also, a major struggle in many homes. The fact that it occurs at least three times each day makes it ever excruciating when you’re in a “feeding rut,” which are common during the course of life with littles. When it comes time for meal time, we try to remind ourselves of Ellyn Satter’s “Division of Responsibility in Feeding,” which breaks down to two simple statements:
- Parent’s Responsibility: you choose the what, when and where of feeding.
- Kid’s Responsibility: they choose which and how much of the offered foods to eat.
This approach is very well written about and there’s a lot more to unpack if you’re in a true feeding struggle, we love the in depth guide at @YummyToddlerFood. Better meal times is something we all strive for, and we love adding in Vitaminis as a drink to round things out so we know kids are getting the nutrition they need.
