As a qualified teacher, mum, parenting coach and all-round Early Years expert, Sophie has a wealth of practical, real life experience to share with parents.
As a mum of two and a registered GP, Stephanie has seen more than her fair share of little ones! She has lots of practical tips and professional know-how on hand to help parents.
Katie is a mum of one, and also our resident Nutritionist. Bringing over 12 years’ experience, and a passion for infant weaning and nutrition to our Expert Panel.
Kiddylicious Nutritionist Katie Angotti says:
We have such unrealistic expectations of how long we should expect a child to sit still for at the table. We’ve spent the whole day encouraging them to run around and then we expect them to sit and wait and be still and act like an adult at mealtimes. That’s often where mealtimes can become challenging – because our expectations are off. It’s unrealistic to expect a small child to sit still for more than a few minutes, especially if they’re not used to it.
It’s normal for children to want to get down from the table and wander around, play, or to simply just stretch their legs.
Kiddylicious Nutritionist Katie Angotti says:
They might even see the adults at the table taking a pause between bites or stopping to talk and want to do the same. It’s important for parents to understand why their children are looking to take that break from eating: They might just need to have a little pause to reconnect their brain and their tummy to see if they’re hungry or not.
Playing word games with your little one can work as a great distraction technique for both of you.
Early Years Child Development Specialist Sophie Pickles says:
I play ‘guess the vehicle’ with my children at the table, where one person thinks of a vehicle and the others ask questions and try to guess what it is. It’s a great game for so many reasons; it’s good for developing questioning skills and language, but it’s also a great distraction method. It means you’re not focusing on telling the children to eat up and have some more, because that in my experience will just make them push back on not wanting to eat.
Kiddylicious Nutritionist Katie Angotti says:
Games like that can help children see mealtimes as a form of the family coming together to socialise. Yes, there is food, and we’re eating food. But it’s also a great time for connection – and they might not get that same connection at other times.
As a parent, if you’re worried about what your children are eating and whether they’re getting the right nutrients, they tend to pick up on this when you’re at the table together.
Kiddylicious Nutritionist Katie Angotti explains:
We need to give children time to learn to like certain foods, and to want to try them. The more pressure you put on someone to eat something, the more they’re going to push back, and they’re going to resist, and you get into a downward spiral.” Sometimes it’s a gradual process, give them time and keep going – they will try new things in good time.
Don’t worry if it’s not practical to have everybody around the table at the same time – you might not even have a table to do so. Parents can also face the struggle of a toddler refusing to sit in their chair because it’s suddenly uncomfortable for them, or because they want to sit like everybody else. In some circumstances, children are going to eat better away from the table because they can find a position they’re more comfortable in. The important thing is being together.
Kiddylicious Nutritionist Katie Angotti says:
That can be on the floor with a picnic blanket, maybe it’s on the sofa. You still have the same opportunity to interact. If you focus on the connection and play at mealtimes, it can make it more enjoyable.
The more relaxed the atmosphere at mealtimes, the more children are likely to eat.
General Practitioner Dr Stephanie Ooi adds:
Putting pressure on children to eat more of their food can result in a raised heart rate and them feeling uncomfortable. The body responds in a physiological way. The amazing thing about the brain is that we are able to lay down memory, and so children will remember those feelings the next time they are in that situation.
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