Trick Your Kids Into Eating by Calling Them “big Snacks”
My son is ready to dine at almost any moment. I’m writing these words just before 10am, and I bet he’ll be ready for dinner right now if I ask him. (He would be surprised by the proposal, but I’m pretty sure surprise will quickly turn to excitement.) However, this is not the case for all children. I see you parents with kids who simply don’t have the time or interest to eat a full meal in one sitting – and yet these same kids will ask for a snack five minutes after they get up from the dinner table. …
A recent post on Honest Baby’s Facebook page paid tribute to this common – and infuriating – inconsistency, and parents came up with the perfect solution: A simple rethinking might be all it takes. Consider this suggestion from a commentator named Mary:
I asked my son if he would like corn dog for lunch in an hour. He said no. I asked if he would like to have a corn dog snack in an hour, and the answer “Yes” got a big smile and said “Yes”, and now I am the coolest mom in the world.
And then Laura beautifully tied a bow for us:
We call meals “big snacks” and it works like magic.
You can use any variation of this language that your children like best. One commentator says that she prepares a “snack” for her children every day with her hands; another child prefers to refer to lunch as a snack plate.
You can leave the lunch itself the same; maybe just chop it up into small pieces or serve it in a bento box to make it look more snacky and the kids will be fooled.