Fussy eaters - a different strategy

Dealing with "fussy eaters" is a constant struggle for many parents. There are lots of little tricks to encourage kids to eat (or eat up). So here's another trick to add to the list - inspired by something my four-year-old said the other day. I got upset with him because he wouldn't finish his plate. To me, wasting food or throwing away food (that is perfectly good to eat) is one of the worst things you can do in this life - it's wrong on so many levels. As a result we feel strongly about educating our son that wasting food is not on.

So I told him that many children in the world have nothing to eat and die of starvation. His response: "well then we have to help them!". Yup ... and so I showed him pictures of starving children and what we are doing to help them. The result? He still didn't eat up the plate at the time but he has done so several times in the following days, weeks and months. He is now much more aware of the desperate situation of other children and why we believe it is so important to not waste food. His empathy with others who are not as lucky as we are has definitely grown. So I figured showing him starving kids was a useful "reality check" for him and it has resulted in a change of behaviour and attitude. There's lots of footage on starvation and hunger on the net if you want to do this as well. Here's one example.

Example for one of the many kids helping kids campaigns

-Stef