Mealtimes are Important to Healthy Brain Development Mealtime involves much more for the child’s developing brain than the nutritional value of the food eaten. The parent or caregiver should sit with the child during mealtimes, not let the child eat alone. It is an important time to help a child build relationships and develop social skills. As the parent and child eat and talk with each other, the child can develop language skills, consideration for others, and good manners. In a positive setting, a child can be introduced to new foods and taught age-appropriate self-feeding skills.

Parents and caregivers determine the atmosphere at mealtime. The atmosphere should be pleasant and comfortable, so that the child looks forward to the time together. Parents (and caregivers) are in charge of the kinds of foods, and when and where food is eaten. The child decides whether to eat, and how much to eat. A young child will eat a variety of foods if parents and caregivers continue to serve nutritious meals and snacks in a form a young child can manage.

A young child cannot eat as much as an adult at one time, so planned and nutritious snacks should be given in addition to meals. An infant or child knows when he has had enough to eat, and his signs that he is full should be respected. Forcing a child to clean his plate creates tension, and sets a pattern for overeating that can lead to obesity.

As a child progresses in acquiring self-feeding skills and weaning from breast or bottle to a cup, he will develop fine motor skills, and mouth and face muscles that contribute to language development. Between 6 months and one year of age, a child is generally ready and should be encouraged to begin to feed himself, first with finger feeding, then with spoon and fork. A child can begin using a regular, open cup for drinking water and juice at about six months, and transition from breast or bottle to cup for drinking milk some time between 12 and 14 months. While sippee cups can help a child begin learning to drink from a cup, the basic mouth muscles used in drinking from a sippee cup are more similar to those used with a nipple than with an open cup. As a child eats more textured foods, and drinks from a regular cup, he is exercising mouth muscles that also are important in developing speech. A child needs time to practice these new skills, so mealtimes should not be hurried.

A young child likes to imitate food preferences of adults. When a significant adult states that she dislikes a food, the child also may refuse it. A young child hears and understands more than he can speak. If a caregiver announces that the child dislikes a particular food, the child probably won’t eat that food.

Food is essential to life and therefore should not be used as a reward or incentive for desired behavior, or withheld as punishment. Food and eating should not become topics of controversy in home or childcare environments. Sweet desserts should not be overemphasized, or used as a reward for eating other foods.

A child learns to expect events to occur in a certain order, so mealtimes, like sleep and play, need to be predictable. A child needs to know that he will always be provided with an adequate variety of nutritious foods to satisfy hunger at expected times, and that he will not be rushed to eat. Regular and pleasurable meal and snack times show a child that adults can be trusted to meet his basic needs. A child who never knows when food will be available tends to overeat when offered food. This pattern can foster many developmental problems and can lead to obesity.

Pleasurable family mealtimes are very important for a child’s healthy brain development. Plan and establish a routine for everyone in the household to share at least one unhurried mealtime every day.

More information about healthy mealtimes can be found in the websites of Zero to Three, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Dietetic Association.