Lauren A: How do you handle holiday eating with small children?
Do you allow them to eat whatever they want? Do you set restrictions or limits? What’s the best way to ensure they enjoy the best of the holiday without letting them overindulge?
Answers and Views:
Answer by csscmom — Mom of 4
I monitor what they’re eating just as I do every other day. They are allowed more things to eat since we make special items for the holidays but we never allow them to overindulge.
We have big holiday gatherings that start with enough appetizers to feed a small underworld country. There are a mixture of healthy and not-so-healthy foods offered. I try to watch that my kids get some healthy foods, but I also don’t want to spend the entire day watching over every bite they take. God forbid someone should keep track of my grazing habits during the holidays!
At meal time, we have a smaller table for the kids to sit at. The parents get their kid’s plate filled and we let them start (and finished) before the adults. They join us in prayer, but they have the table to themselves. This works out well and I am sure they might leave their squash untouched while they over indulge in cranberry sauce. Big deal, the next day we are back to normal and no one suffers from enjoying a break on Thanksgiving!
Have a great Turkey Day!
Answer by desmeranI was going to answer with liberal use of tums and motrin until I read your details.
But they eat just as they always do. We have a polite bite rule … everyone has a polite bite of everything, and the options are generally healthy ones. I’m not remotely worried about the piece of pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving dinner (or even the bag full of candy after Halloween). They’ve got a very healthy diet overall, and they’re all actually near the bottom of the weight curve for their ages. I’m also not worried about overeating on Thanksgiving: kids are generally better than adults at knowing when they’re full.
Answer by Good JobWith small childern we do the same as any other day. I make the plate and decided what they eat. For older kids one day of over indulgence won’t kill themAnswer by kisss the gurl <33
just give them a plate 1 and if thay dont eat all of it dont give them desert and dont let them have any more til the next mealAnswer by jennayyyyyyy babayyyyy
make them up a small plate…Answer by Michelle
I allow my daughter to eat whatever she wants, but I do set limits. And I make sure she understands that if she really likes something, we can take a plate of it home for the next day.
When she was under 3, we would share a plate. Now that she is 6 – she gets her own. But the rules remain the same. I put a small amount of each thing I know she likes and a little taste of each thing she wants to try plus the vegetables I want her to eat on the plate. I try to keep it a little smaller than how much I think she should eat and allow her to pick 2 or 3 things that she wants seconds of AFTER all vegetables have been finished. If she is still hungry after seconds, I poke her tummy and say something like “uh oh… There isn’t much room left! You better go play for a while so that you will have room for desert.” She agrees to that pretty easily and I call her back half an hour or so later to ask what she wants for desert and if she is hungry to eat it now or wants to save it for later. (of course, she is almost always “hungry to eat it now.”)
Anyhow, that’s what works for me. One of the best things you can do is set a good example for your kid by making sure you don’t overindulge either. If they can take a plate of leftovers home – make sure they know that they know there will be more good stuff later. Don’t give your kid a huge plate to start with. And when you think they have had enough – get them to go play until time for desert.
Answer by forever5Thanksgiving is different than Christmas. For Thanksgiving I make them a small plate but I don’t expect them to eat it all. Quite often they just don’t want a heavy dinner so I make them turkey on a roll (something that is on the table anyway) and as long as they eat something that has some good nutritional value, I’m okay with it.
For Christmas, I make a fruit/cheese plate and place it on the table. They eat it while they are playing with the new toys. I don’t expect them to come to the table for a full breakfast. They do munch away all day on candy, nuts etc – all the stuff that is out on tables. I don’t push them to eat – it is one day a year and it is their day. The dinner meal is the same as for Thanksgiving. They won’t starve. We can get back to a regular schedule the next day.
We try to limit the chocolate and the candy if we see they are getting too much but we try not to leave too much in their reach.
Leave a Reply