How to Get Kids to Slow Down When Eating

Eating too quickly isn't just rude, it can also contribute to larger health issues. Besides making it easier for children to choke on their food, eating too quickly can also contribute to obesity. Because the body needs at least 20 to 30 minutes to register satiety, children can end up overeating because they cannot tell whether they are full or not. Chronic overeating contributes to obesity, which is a factor in health issues such as diabetes. Though it seems small, teaching your child to slow down when eating can help circumvent many long term issues.

Instructions

• 1

  Eat as a family. Sitting together and eating a meal at the dining room table can make a big difference in your children's eating behavior. Making a meal an event emphasizes that meal time is time that should be savored together.

• 2

  Strike up a discussion. Since meal time is family time, it is perfect for discussing one another's days and showing an active interest in each other's lives. Since it is rude to talk with your mouth full, your children will have to slow down and swallow in order to participate in the conversation.

• 3

  Make meals that are difficult to gulp down. Unless your children are very small, do not cut up foods for them. Have your children work on practicing the different ways utensils must be used to eat. One example is pasta: Show your children how to twirl the noodles on the base of a spoon.

• 4

  Require that your children drink milk and water with their meals. Urge them to cleanse their palates between bites of food so that they can really savor the foods they are eating. Beverages also help guard against overeating, as they take up valuable space in the stomach.

• 5

  Disallow multi-tasking. Reading, texting and watching television should be banned when eating. When children are asked to focus simply on eating their meals, they will slow down. Make meal time a special time that is unaffected by other forces in your children's lives.

• 6

  Ask your children to help you prepare the food you are eating. When your children have a special investment in the meal, it may change their behavior at the table. Ask them about foods they would like to help prepare or tasks that they would like to undertake. This action may also help them understand how much work is involved in putting together a family meal and how disappointed you feel when you see them rush through it.