Family

FITFAM with Ziggy Makant

HOW TO HANDLE FUSSY EATERS

Navigating meal time, from little ones going through a picky phase to bodyconscious adolescents and teenagers, can be challenging for any parent. I spoke to expert Sanchita Daswani to get some insight into my family’s most common roadblocks. Daswani is a nutrition consultant for babies and toddlers, who works with parents to empower them around meal times. Here’s what she said:

We have certain meals the kids will eat, but it’s getting boring for us parents. How can I vary our meals without rocking the boat?

Sanchita Daswani: Just making small changes to the meals you already regularly eat can change the flavour, and provide a wider variety of minerals and nutrients. Try cooking with a different oil at every meal, using different milks in pancakes and porridges, or stirring in some superfoods, like ground nuts or seeds.

My children go through fussy phases, where they suddenly decide they don’t like certain foods they previously loved. How do you tackle issues like that?

SD: This is normal human behaviour. Remember, everyone goes through phases like those, even when we’re adults! What’s important to focus on is our role during mealtimes, which I call the The Division of Responsibility.

Parents’ role in feeding:

- When food will be served - Where food will be served - What food will be served

Kids’ role in feeding:

- If they will eat - How much they will eat - Which foods they will eat

I want to allow some freedom at our dinner table and let my kids develop their own internal hunger cues, but still ensure they’re eating enough. What language can I use to promote a healthy relationship with food?

SD: During mealtimes, avoid making comments about how much our kids are eating. It's up to them to decide how much their body needs. When serving food, stick to the facts about what’s on the plate: “This is chicken with some broccoli,” instead of “This is healthy chicken, you have to eat it.”

Don’t label foods as good or bad; for example, telling children brownies are full of sugar, so we shouldn’t eat too much of them. Take the emphasis away from food, and make meals about family time and engaging with each other instead. Talk about your day rather than checking in constantly about which foods they like and how much they’re eating.

Ziggy is a Hong Kong-based mum of two, pre- and postnatal trainer, micro-influencer, and co-host of the Mom Body Soul Podcast. She loves all things motherhood, sustainability and parenting. You can follow her adventures on Instagram @zig.fitmama or reach out to say hello at ziggy.fit.pt@gmail.com for FitFam leads and pitches!

PARENTS' PICK

NO PLAYGROUND, NO PROBLEM!

When I heard that the playgrounds were closing down last January, I had a slight freakout thinking about how I was going to handle my little ones’ pent-up energy during lockdown. Luckily, after no small amount of online research, I stumbled across the Montessori-inspired Pikler Triangle, which I purchased online through Facebook Marketplace.

The Pikler Triangle is a basic wooden-rung apparatus with various multipurpose attachments, such as slides or walking planks. Even though it may seem a bit minimalist for kids today, something as simple as this offers a multitude of benefits including spatial awareness, gross motor skills, coordination and balance, and imagination through open-ended play. I found the Pikler Triangle (which comes in both triangle and curved shapes) also offers something for parents, insofar that I was able to back off and let my children explore, giving them the freedom to figure the structure out for themselves. Even though playgrounds may have reopened, I’m hanging onto this lifesaver if and when another lockdown happens!

Costs US$299 on Amazon, or to keep your carbon footprint low, check out toy rental company Happy Baton HK (happybatonhk.com) to try one out for a month.