Kids Cuisine

Does this sound familiar:  “How much more do I have to eat before I can have dessert?”  If so, you are not alone.  In fact, we started hearing this so often at our table that we decided to stop serving dessert every night.  Dessert was becoming such a powerful incentive to eat their “growing food” that our kids were no longer listening to their bodies.  Instead of  considering how full they were, they were completely focused on the prize at the end.  Now, we only offer dessert randomly, as an unexpected treat or as part of an afterschool snack.

Just a few things to consider when entering into Dessert Negotiations with your children:

• By bargaining with your child about how much broccoli they have to eat before they get dessert, your child learns that dessert is better than broccoli.  Otherwise, why would they have to bargain?
• If you want to include dessert every night, consider offering it with the meal.  Some kids will eat dessert first, of course, but then they will most likely move on to the rest of their dinner.
• As the parent, you get to decide what to offer for dessert.  Have options available that you are okay having your kids consume.  Consider foods that are made from real ingredients and not ones with chemical names you can’t pronounce.

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