Family Style Dining

Family style dining is a great way to teach children healthy habits and social skills, and it can be fun! Here are some thoughts for trying family style dining.

THE PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY STYLE DINING ARE…
1. Involve the children in preparing the meal and/or setting the table, and cleaning up afterwards. Letting children contribute in ways that are meaningful builds their self-esteem. It also is a good way to teach them things like the names of utensils, how to count, and right versus left, and how to help them to develop motor skills and coordination.

2. Gather everyone at the table, and join them yourself. Model good table manners and healthy eating habits. Eat the same foods that they eat.

3. Create a comfortable place for the children to eat and to learn. Use child-sized tables, chairs, serving containers, utensils, pitchers, etc.

4. Place the food in serving containers on the table. To the extent that children are developmentally ready, let them pass the containers and serve themselves. Some children may need your help, but restrain yourself from helping when it is not really necessary. Expect children to be awkward, slow, and somewhat “MESSY” until they have developed the coordination and skills needed to use the utensils and pass the food containers. Do not put foods hot enough to burn children on the table.

5. Create a relaxed atmosphere and keep eating at a leisurely pace. Engage children in quiet conversation. Keep them focused on the meal, but don’t rush them.

6. Be patient. Eating neatly takes a lot of skill. Children will have accidents. Don’t call too much attention to the accident. Simply help the child clean up the mess if they need it and continue with the meal.

Toddler Biting

 

Biting is common for many toddlers.   Sometimes they bite because it feels good on their teething gums and sometimes it’s because they enjoy the strong reaction they get from adults. Most biting occurs between the ages of 13 months and 30 months and should stop around age three.

How to help your child stop biting

• Give children enough toys.   Provide enough toys and activities to curb fighting      between children over the toys.
• Have more than one “favorite” toy.   Keep more than one of the most popular toys on hand so      that very young children will not have to wait long to play with it.
• Watch out for predictors.   Be on the look out for frustrating situations when      child might lose control. If necessary, decrease the number of children      your child plays near or shorten the playtime.
• Use timeouts. Tell      your child that biting is unacceptable and take him to a designated      timeout area for a minute or two. Remember longer timeouts are not      effective for toddlers.
• Teach alternatives to biting. Teach your child to say “no” if another child      is doing something he does not like. Also try offering your toddler a      teething ring if he looks like he might bite another child.
• Keep your child in sight.   Stay very close to your child and if he bites,      immediately remove him from the situation. When he is playing well with      others, compliment him to help him realize that you value this kind of      behavior. This will also help build his self-esteem.
• Be consistent.   Explain that biting hurts others and is not allowed. Consistently      remove the child when he bites. This will help him learn that he must stop      biting if he wants to play with others.
• Never hit your child.   It’s important not to spank, hit, or slap your child      when he bites.   Toddlers are unlikely to make the connection between      their behavior and physical punishment and therefore this is not an      effective discipline technique. Also, this will teach your toddler that      violence is an appropriate response to anger or frustration, which is      exactly the habit you are trying to break!

This information was compiled by Sunindia Bhalla, and reviewed by the program staff of the Massachusetts Children’s Trust Fund

New Resource for Families with Young Children

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has launched a new website for families: http://families.naeyc.org/. The site includes resources and information for families of young children on topics such as child development, school transitions, behavior issues, and nutrition. One feature, “Families Today” comes from T. Berry Brazelton and Joshua Sparrow, leaders in the early childhood field, and invites questions from families. Recent topics touched on toilet training, biting, and deployment of a parent. If you are looking for a resource or an article for your child care program’s newsletter, this is a great site to share. You may also find the information helpful in your own practice. One article, “Why Do Babies Love Boxes Best?” offers insight into the developmental stages of play and these tips for supporting exploration:

If your baby is younger than 12 months, offer one new object to explore every week. Just be sure that anything you give a baby is large enough not to be swallowed and safe enough to go in a mouth.  Here are some suggestions:

Fill a basket with items that appeal to touch, smell, and sound. Include a small cloth pillow with cinnamon sticks sewn inside, wooden spoons, and an elastic bracelet with bells securely sewn on.

Provide plastic or stainless steel bowls or a plastic jug and a variety of materials for dumping and filling.

Introduce new items at bath time such as plastic measuring cups with handles or a colander.

Collect containers with lids that open and close, like plastic jars of different sizes and boxes with lids that can be taken off and put back on