Proper Method to Teach Children to Eat With Utensils

Eating with hands and fingers is natural for the younger children, but a it’s not a proper way. There comes a

stage when a child needs to master the art of using a spoon and fork. Though initially it seems very difficult for them and they may eat lesser or even refuse to eat but with encouragement,  proper motivation by making them sit and eat with you and letting them watch the way you eat, they will start doing so by the time they reach 3 or 4 years of age [Bright Future]

Below I am going to state the Proper Method to achieve this task. But remember patience is the key.

Use Utensils made for Children

Yes, they make special utensils for the little ones like training mugs, training spoons and forks etc. These utensils are small and have chubby handles and safely rounded edges on the fork tines and spoon edges.

Use Shallow Bowls

Serve food in shallow bowls with rounded sides to help your child use utensils for eating. The rounded sides will provide a sturdy edge against which the child may push the utensil to load it with food. Give your child choice by placing the utensils in front of your child at meal time. Teach your child how to grasp the utensils in his hands remember the child won’t be able to grasp it properly and the utensils may slip from his hand if its full or heavy.

First let the Child eat his way

Just let them use either their fingers or the utensils but urge them to use the utensils. Tell them its not appropriate to eat with fingers as there may be germs in them and will make him sick. Encourage him by using the same type of utensils yourself. This will make him feel friendly and curious at the same time. Motivation and encouragement is the key.

Proper Method of Eating

What’s the Proper Method to Eat?                                       

Copied from http://propermethod.blogspot.com/2014/06/proper-method-of-eating.html

So this is the First Question that I am going to answer in this blog. Why this? Why start from eating? Well this is the first thing every human being does after birth and keeps on doing it till death. Taking food is the basic requirement of human body. Without food the human body gets weaker, and eventually all the systems stop working.

Everybody need food but eating food the proper way gives you health benefits and let's your body make the most out of it. Let's see the proper method for eating to benefit from it. Yes, eaten improperly will cause you lots of lots of trouble... believe me!

Choosing the Right Food

The first step involved in proper methods to eat is choosing the right food. When it comes to food nature has given us a number of options for example we have:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Dairy products
• Meat Products
• Seafood

So, where should we start from? The best way to answer is to understand the composition of these choices and our body needs. In simple words our body need

ü  Vitamins

ü  Minerals

ü  Proteins

ü  Carbohydrates

We need most of these things in our daily routine and to get the right amount of these, the food we choose should have the right amount of the necessary elements.

Eating the proper amount of right food will put your body in the healthy gear. Your body will have natural resistance towards diseases and you will be able to avoid certain life threatening disease like heart problem, high blood pressure, high cholesterol problem, obesity etc.

Eat a balanced Diet

According to Harvard School of Public Health ^[1] we should include a good balance of carbohydrates, protein, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products in our food in order to keep you strong and healthy. Try to eat a diet of 30% Vegetables, 20% Fruit, 20% Carbohydrates (wheat, rice, and corn), 20% Protein (found in meat, beans, and legumes), and 10% Dairy products. USDA’s Food Pyramid or My Plate are good examples of balancing the food.

Don't Skip Meals

Most of us think that skipping a meal will make them lose fat quickly but no please do not skip any meals rather reduce or completely stop eating those unhealthy ready to eat meals. Breakfast, starts your metabolism (the set of life-sustaining chemical transformations within the cells of living organisms ^[2]) early in the morning. 

You will also want to make sure to eat at regular intervals, to help make sure your body has the fuel it needs to run all day. Focus on eating foods which deliver lots of vital nutrients to your body. These are foods rich in vitamins and minerals. You can try citrus fruits, dark greens like kale and spinach, grains like brown rice and quinoa, lean proteins like lentils and chicken, and calcium rich dairy products like low-fat cottage cheese.

Drink lots of water every day

Drink lots of water every day

This is very important. You may think you are hungry when, in fact, you are really just thirsty. It also makes your liver and kidney a lot happier. Eight 8oz glasses of water are recommended for most adults. Depending on the weather and climate you may need more or less. Water being the only thing even when used in excess most probably won’t cause any problems.

Don't eat a huge meal

It’s very reasonable to want to eat a delicious meal more than you need. Remember these eating huge meals causes stomach upsets and makes you feel sick. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to give you a stomach full signal so the best time to stop eating is when you satisfied not when you feel full. Give it some time you will get the full stomach signal from your brain.

Eat the My Plate Way

This comes straight from Harvard School of Public Health and USDA. When it’s time for dinner, most of us eat off of a plate. So think of the Healthy Eating Plate as a blueprint for a typical meal, for yourself and your family. It’s similar in concept to MyPlate, with colorful quadrants reserved for vegetables (green), fruits (red), protein (orange), and grains (brown). But unlike MyPlate, it offers important messages about diet quality, not just quantity:

• Fill half of your plate with vegetables and fruits.  The more color, and the more variety, the better. Most Americans don’t get enough vegetables, especially the dark green and red-orange types, or fruits. On the Healthy Eating Plate, just like the Healthy Eating Pyramid, potatoes and French fries don’t count as vegetables.
• Save a quarter of your plate for whole grains—not just any grains: MyPlate tells you to reserve a quarter of your plate for grains. But grains are not essential for good health. What’s essential is to make any grains you eat whole grains, since these have a gentler effect on blood sugar and insulin than refined grains. Whole grains include whole wheat, brown rice, oats, barley, and the like, as well as foods made with them, such as whole wheat pasta. The less processed the whole grains, the better: Finely ground grain is more rapidly digested, and in turn, has a greater impact on blood sugar than more coarsely ground or intact grains. So choose steel cut oats instead of instant, sugared oats or choose whole wheat berries instead of whole wheat bread.
• Pick a healthy source of protein to fill one quarter of your plate: On MyPlate, the “protein” quadrant of the plate could be filled with a hamburger or hot dog. The Healthy Eating Plate, in contrast, acknowledges that some protein sources (fish, chicken, beans, nuts) are healthier than others (red meat and processed meat).
• Enjoy healthy fats. The glass bottle near the Healthy Eating Plate is a reminder to use healthy oils, like olive and canola, in cooking, on salad, and at the table. Limit butter, and avoid unhealthy trans-fats. Though the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 acknowledges that Americans need to consume more plant oils, these healthy oils are nowhere to be found on MyPlate.
• Drink water, coffee or tea. On the Healthy Eating Plate, complete your meal with a glass of water, or if you like, a cup of tea or coffee (which also are low calorie and have health benefits)—not the glass of milk  that MyPlate recommends. Limit milk and dairy products to one to two servings per day and limit juice to a small glass per day. Skip the sugary drinks.
• Stay active. The figure scampering across the bottom of the Healthy Eating Plate’s placemat is a reminder that staying active is half of the secret to weight control. The other half is eating a healthy diet with modest portions that meet your calorie needs. Since two out of three U.S. adults and one in three children are overweight or obese, one thing is clear: Many of us have been choosing plates that are too large.