My Son Does Not Want To Eat At School: What Can Be Done?
Eating at school shouldn’t become a problem. However, many times this transition can be a bit difficult for the little ones in the house. As a consequence, the child can develop behavior problems that directly affect their eating habits.
Eating at school: good or bad for the child?
For children who are used to being at home all the time, it can be difficult to make the transition to school or daycare. There are many aspects that influence this, but without a doubt, eating at school is one of the most significant.
Experts in child psychology explain that one of the main reasons why a child refuses to eat at school is their eating habits.
In other words, at home the child is usually spoiled with the foods that he likes the most. However, at school you must adapt to the menu that is prepared every day in the dining room.
Although at first it is difficult for the child to adapt to the school canteen, if it is treated well, it will be a favorable change in every way. The main reason for this is that you will learn to eat in a much more balanced way and will open your palate to other tastes and flavors.
A child who adapts to his school dining room procedure will step out of his comfort zone. In addition, it will significantly expand the amount of food you like, as well as its different preparations.
What to do if my child does not want to eat at school?
The canteens in the dining room are essential to stimulate the child to eat. In this sense, it is important to highlight the value of your work. They should be aware of the little ones and avoid pressuring them to finish everything they have on the plate.
Patience
One quality caregivers must develop is patience. Pressure and threats often don’t work very well with children. On the contrary, they tend to react by closing themselves even more to the activity in question.
Inform about the child’s tastes
Although one of the main advantages of having the child eat at school is that it expands its diet, a strategy can be implemented so that the change is not so abrupt. This basically consists of informing the caregivers about the foods that the child likes the most.
With this valuable information, they will be able to better handle the situation. For example, if the child likes puree more than vegetables, the caregiver will place a larger portion of the first and a smaller portion of the second.
The idea is to take the little one to eat everything in a balanced way, but without forcing him to consume what he hates at first. Over time, you will get a taste for these new foods.
Encourage the child
Along with patience comes incentive and also positive reinforcement. Children do not respond well to threats, but if the caregiver reinforces the child’s self-esteem with motivational phrases, they will get the child to start eating better.
In the same way, the child should be congratulated when he has good behavior at the table and takes improvement steps in terms of eating.
What should not be done
There are several guidelines that, instead of promoting an improvement in the child’s eating habits, can make it worse. In this sense, it is important to take them into account, since the infant’s progress depends on it.
Punish, threaten and compel
Caregivers should know that they should never force a child to eat without parental consent. Whether under threat of punishment or any other type of negative strategy, the child should not be forced to finish everything on the plate.
Humiliate
As we have seen, the child should not be forced to eat. But neither should you humiliate yourself by ridiculing him in front of your other colleagues. If this happens, the child will not only stop eating, but his self-esteem will be deeply affected.
So that eating at school does not become a headache for parents and caregivers, it is important to establish frank and open communication in both directions.
With patience, information and the right encouragement, all children can adapt to this change, which will undoubtedly bring great benefits in their future lives.
