Happy Meal Time!

No, not that kind of Happy Meal. Well, not yet for our son anyway. We are trying to teach him how to eat while we serve him healthy, nutritious food. And to eat in general.

Fortunately, we have never had a problem with him actually eating. On occasion he will not like something he was served and spit it out, but that rarely occurs. And even when it does we bring it back after he has tried another part of his meal and he eats it.

We are asked what we do to get him to eat. The answer is quite simple - put it in front of him. He sees us eat and wants to do what mommy and daddy are doing. (a common theme in our house - he likes to copy our actions and behavior). In all likelihood, our son's eating habits started shortly after conception. My wife was very careful about what she ate, but within reason. She did not eat processed foods like hot dogs. She did not drink caffeine. But there is a wide breadth of foods that can be eaten in moderation. And we did. In doing so we introduced our son to many different foods even though he did not realize it. We did not take the approach that many parents do and restrict nearly all foods. We exposed him to certain foods both because we enjoy eating them and a little exposure is good for him in the long term.

And our method has paid off thus far. Our son is a happy boy who likes to eat - it is both the actual taste of food and the activity around it. This method may not work for all parents and all families, but it did for us.