German mother: participation is the key to eating.
It turns out that this is a German mother. Because my husband works in China, we settled in Beijing together. I told her that I especially envy her baby for eating quietly, and broccoli and lettuce are also very good. That afternoon, after I asked her a lot of questions about her children's diet, I found that the most interesting thing for German mothers in cultivating their babies' eating habits was the underlying logic that "what they eat is not important, but what matters is participation".
I know that many elders in China will be angry when they hear this "fallacy". Since Tim began to add complementary food, grandma couldn't wait to become a nutritionist. She called me again and again on the overseas phone and didn't give her children "American junk food". In our opinion, what children eat is more important than how they eat. This is why children continue to feed, because they know they should eat by themselves, but they are worried that they will eat less.
But my German mother told me that in the German parents' idea, eating is human nature, but it is more important to teach the baby how to eat. Therefore, from the beginning of eating complementary food, German babies must sit at the table and enter the dining process with their families at a fixed time.
The rules at the table should be observed.
When we talk about Germans, we all think that their whole nation is full of rigor. Even when they take their babies to dinner, they have many "rules", and they are learning these rules imperceptibly in the activities of "eating".
1, participate in pre-meal preparation
Germans attach great importance to the cultivation of children's autonomy. Children who have the ability usually prepare tableware for their parents before meals. For example, give everyone knives and forks, napkins and so on.
2. Opening ceremony.
Nowadays, even in religious families, there are few formal prayers. But the pre-dinner ceremony was preserved. Generally speaking, parents will say to their babies, "Have a good appetite!" Have a good appetite )
3. There are no children's tableware
My mother told me that kindergartens in Germany don't use children's tableware, so they didn't prepare separate tableware for their babies. Because then children can't understand the true meaning of "tableware will break when dropped" Using fragile ceramics and glass tableware should also be something that babies should learn at the dinner table.
4. Try to help yourself.
There is a view among German parents that "what to do is my business and how much to eat is the child's own business", so they will provide many opportunities for their children to "help themselves". For example, put your own bread in the basket and pour your own water. Eating like this has also become a thing that babies enjoy very much. You can eat whatever you want and eat as much as you want.
5. The table next door is full.
Because I like snacks very much, there are snacks everywhere in my house. Therefore, Tim knows very well that even if the table is not full, he can find food in the sofa table and sideboard. When I meet food that I don't like so much, I have a bad attitude towards it. This mother told me that in German families, although there will be morning snacks and afternoon tea, when you get off the table, you will default that you are full and can't eat other snacks.
What does German table education give us?
After chatting with this German mother all afternoon, my biggest feeling is that we pay too much attention to the children's food and don't respect the children's autonomy in the whole matter. For example, when Tim is eating, grandma often "picks up vegetables" for him and looks at the mountains of food in the children's bowls, which reminds me of my tragic experience of being "fed" by my mother until I get married. So what can German parents' methods be used for reference to solve our problems?
First: children eat slowly: they will be collected when they arrive.
For a child who is exposed to food for the first time, the food in front of him is fresh in touch, color and taste. He has a groping process and can't concentrate on eating like an adult. In addition, children chew differently from adults, and eating a little slowly can't be regarded as dawdling. It is normal for children around 2 years old to eat for about 30-45 minutes. If the child can't finish eating within 1 hour, parents can directly announce the end of the meal.
Second: children are picky eaters: look at the whole and don't care too much about one or two meals.
Some fans privately said: "My baby is too picky about food. I didn't eat mushrooms in the bowl at noon today!" Only after communication did she know that as long as the baby's nutrition was unbalanced, she was extremely anxious and felt that the baby was picky about food again. But it's actually our own parenting anxiety. The so-called nutritional balance refers to the nutritional intake over a period of time. We all have this situation, we really want to eat a certain kind of food, but we don't want to eat a certain meal, so why force a baby?
Tips If you are really uneasy, you can make a diet log for your baby and see if the nutrition intake is balanced every week.
Third: children's partial eclipse: start with the food itself.
If the baby doesn't eat a certain food for a long time, we often think, "This child is partial to food." However, from the perspective of cooking, it is rarely considered to try a variety of cooking and collocation methods. Just like a friend of mine, he refused fish for ten years until he ate fish by mistake at a dinner party and lamented, "So fish is so delicious!" " "
Therefore, to treat children's partial eclipse, we must first consider changing cooking methods. If the child still doesn't like it, you can try it again after a while. Finally, the child still refused to accept it and changed to another food. There is no need to be too anxious and entangled.
Braised mother has something to say:
In the communication with German mothers, I think what parents should learn most is their attitude towards children's eating. There are thousands of delicious foods in the world, but if they put a lot of pressure on their children at the beginning of eating and don't feel the pleasure of eating, wouldn't it be putting the cart before the horse?
Related links 1: physical education class goes up and up again, giving extra points for children's exams, and American children have learned their sports styles.
Related link 2: It is "particular" for the baby to start a meat meal, and it is not good to be too early or too late. It is scientific to add meat complementary food.
Related link 3: Six ways to educate children. Your child can't be spoiled any more, or it will hurt him.