Dan Wells on Getting His Kid to Eat
Submitted by dara
Getting my kid to eat on his own is my biggest concern. It is such a big deal to get him to eat anything and it's a power trip for him, I can tell. I think he's really bright, it's amazing—he's 2 and he sounds like a 5-year-old. But he KNOWS that he's got this power at the dinner table and he uses it. I try to come across as if I'm not that interested, but I really want him to eat more and eat better foods. And I've tried everything.
I sometimes get him to eat by offering him a present in exchange. I know it's not great to persuade my kid with presents, because I don't want him to grow up and have unhealthy associations with food, but I really want him to eat!
At church, the kids all sit down together and say a prayer before they eat. He liked that, so we started doing that at home and it seemed to help for the first few bites ... but then it wore off.
I try to make a game of it. I'll tell him the Big Bad Wolf is coming to take his food (I try to delve into his imagination), and that works for a few bites, too, but then he's done.
I've used our daughter as an example and persuaded him that she's doing good eating and sometimes he's getting competitive with her and eats something. I really don't want them to compete against each other, but I do want my kid to eat!
He actually likes it when I feed him, but my wife goes nuts when I do that because she says everything she's read says that it's wrong. Sometimes I'll even let him zone out in front of a movie and, boom!, he's shoveling in the food. But again, my wife doesn't think it should be that way. I totally hear what she's saying, but I really want my kid to eat so he can grow up and be healthy.
Besides being a parent, Dan Wells is known for his roles on Days of Our Lives and Free Ride as well as guest-starring roles on Will & Grace and Gilmore Girls.
Read what Dan Wells says about:
Being a Persuader Parent
Giving Kids Choices
Young Kids & Video Games
Providing Structure for Children
Read what Dan Wells says about:
Being a Persuader Parent
Giving Kids Choices
Young Kids & Video Games
Providing Structure for Children
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