Day 264 - Eat as a Family

Today's first time parenting tip - Eat with your baby to encourage them to eat, not play

I've already written about the behavioral benefits of eating as a family in my "Get in the Habit" series. But we've realized another nice side effect of eating together.

Lately my son has learned that swiping his food and throwing it on the floor is fun. Even if he's hungry, he'll mash it around. But if my wife and I encourage him to feed us (which he LOVES), he'll get in the mood and start eating himself.

And when he eats lunch with the other kids at daycare, he has no problem chowing down on things we struggle to get him to eat at home, like veggies. The social aspect of eating is a great motivator for him to follow the other kids' lead.

So if you run into trouble with your child feeding himself, try making it a family activity. He might be encouraged to eat himself if he sees others around him doing the same.

Parenting, Food, Table, Feed, Eat