Feeding the 3 to 5-year-old child:
The age between 3 and 5 years is essential for the acquisition of adequate eating habits. Although it is true that these habits must be promoted from the beginning of complementary feeding, between 3 and 5 years the child is already more prepared to understand certain feeding guidelines. The role of parents is essential for this.The feeding of the child from 3 to 5 years is marked by the feeding of the child in previous ages. But following the normal development of the child, it is assumed that between 2 and 3 years of age, the diet of children is very similar to that of adults but in a much smaller amount.
At these ages, the diversity of foods that the child knows is already wide. Coinciding with the vocabulary explosion stage, children between 3 and 5 years old must learn more and more names of different foods. They can already be taught to differentiate between different types of meat, pasta or fruits and vegetables. For example, many children call all kinds of meat "chicha". Now would be a good time to start teaching them which is veal, which is chicken, or which is turkey.
Likewise, between the ages of 3 and 5, children begin to internalize social norms and want to adjust their behavior to them. For this reason, at this stage it is increasingly important to organize meals as a social event, as a family. It is a good time to transmit good behavior habits at the table, such as clearing the table when you finish eating.
Encourage eating habits in children from 3 to 5 years old:
Good feeding habits should be encouraged from the beginning of the baby's complementary feeding (around 6 months of age). To facilitate proper eating habits in children ages 3 to 5, some tips can be followed:
Never try to force the child to eat:
Eating is a biological necessity. But trying to force a child to eat when they are not hungry can cause an eating problem in a healthy child. Each child has different needs in terms of how much to eat. Parents should respect these needs without trying to force the child to continue eating when they are full.
It acts as an adequate model of feeding:
Since children learn by observation and imitation and their main role models are their parents, they will tend to imitate their eating habits. Therefore, if parents eat a healthy, varied and balanced diet, children will tend to eat in the same way.
Take into account the child's preferences when eating:
Within the range of varied and healthy foods that we offer to children, it is important to respect the child's tastes and their needs in terms of quantity.
So, for example, if a child does not like Chicken pieces but loves spinach and green beans, we will give him more spinach than Chicken pieces.
Eating with the rest of the family (whenever possible) and the same foods as others helps to establish proper eating habits for children. Mealtime should be a pleasant, shared time, in which you can talk and enjoy the company of the rest of the family.
