It has always just amused me that every time I work at G’s preschool he is always the last one eating at snack time. But as I was thinking more about it today I began to worry that perhaps I haven’t taught him enough about moderation. I’m not exactly known as the Queen of Moderation myself, usually going back for second helpings at dinners and the occasional dessert pig out. Could I be passing on my own inability for self-restraint? I certainly hope not. Perhaps he is just in a growing phase, and needs to eat more. I’m sure everyone else at preschool thinks I don’t feed him enough food. So I’ve tried to think of ways to teach him self control without discouraging him from eating enough to be full.
The one thing we have been trying to instill in him is to try to listen to his body. He doesn’t fully grasp the concept, instead using it as an excuse to try to get what he wants: “My tummy says this food is yucky. It says it wants dessert.” But perhaps if I vocalize how my body feels then it will be a better example of how to react.
The other key I have found is to rely on smaller portions, so that we can all better gauge what we have eaten. I do this with the kids already, making sure that they have small portions on their plates at dinner time, so if they do eat everything they can feel a sense of accomplishment, and even if they want more there is enough of a time delay that they could start to feel full. I am even being better about my own portion control. Of course it always helps when you have smart appliances. I have come to love our new single serve coffee machine, since I can now easily moderate my caffeine intake while not wasting any unused coffee.
In the end it’s not really a bad thing that he eats a lot at snacktime, I just want to make sure he knows to curb his desires when it comes to other cravings.
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