...But I'm Still Hungry!

You exhale as you finally head out of the kitchen and then you hear those dreaded words "but I'm still hungry!"

When your child waits until after the meal to say she's hungry, It's so tempting to jump in with "see you should've eaten when I told you!"

In her book, Raising a Healthy Happy Eater, @mymunchbug_melaniepotock suggests that caregivers set a feeding schedule in place. It would look something like this: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. You can explain to kids that there are specific times for eating and times for growing (exploring, playing, learning... )The next time your child complains their hungry right after a mealtime, try to stay calm and state that eating time is over and they will have to wait for the next snack. Setting up a feeding schedule helps with a few things:

-It helps us teach our kids to tune into their bodies and what they need.

-Having set times to eat means the child is more likely to have an appetite when food is served.

-Many kids thrive with consistency and routine.

-Having a relatively similar schedule every day makes things more predictable and makes it easier for us to parent more consistently and compassionately!

I know this is something I'm going to try to get better at! Are you with me?

*Offering convenient and specialized speech, feeding, and myofunctional therapy.

www.ameeratherapy.com*