Parents in this category consider the importance of nutrition in their children’s lives. Therefore, parents are careful to support healthy eating by eating meals at a set time, portion sizes are set according to the needs of each member, and interactions are focused on the topic of nutrition. The parents’ need is to make sure that the little one has eaten well.

This stage starts when the baby’s life begins. If you fall into this category, wellbeing can be ‘brought’ to the table through eye contact and sensory contact in general between mother and child, as well as through the quiet, which is preferably at mealtimes. Later, when diversification begins, both parent and child can shape well-being through the toddler’s discovery, and the parent’s rediscovery, of the diversity of tastes of food and the mixtures between them, from texture to the different shapes in which they can be served.

It’s a stage of getting to know each other, and the good mood comes from saying things like, “You’re just like Daddy, he likes sweet potato too.”, “I believe you, I wasn’t too keen on broccoli either.”, “Today we’re finding out if you like sour-tasting foods too.” etc.

We are talking about necessity from a learning point of view, as parents are concerned with explaining manners and thus appropriate mealtime behaviors. In addition to regular meals, children, as well as parents, see mealtimes as an opportunity for development. Often, phrases such as “Spinach will make you strong” are used at mealtimes.

It’s easy to recognize that, from the age of two until 7-8, your child is in the pre-operational stage, when he or she can mentally represent certain symbols but not abstract concepts. If you’re in this category, you’ve probably noticed that phrases like “Meat is a real source of protein”, “Vegetables are full of protein” or “Sweets are full of sugar, sugar damages your teeth” have no effect in changing your child’s attitude towards these foods.

On the contrary, they may stir up an inner conflict, preferring less healthy foods (such as sweets, French fries, pizza) over those that are good for the body (white meat, vegetables, fruit), and yet eat them to please their parents.

At the opposite pole are the children in the category who vehemently refuse and appeal to the inability of parents to eat their favorite foods. It is important to note that it is not advisable to put pressure on the child in relation to what foods are recommended to eat, because those foods will be associated with a certain state, and this association may follow the child for the rest of his or her life. Thus, we do not use the phrase “You must eat…”.

With regard to the third category, “Meals for being together”, it was mentioned that the central objective of these is to bring the whole family together to connect with each other through social interaction. In this case, this interaction is superior to the need to consume prepared food.

For the parent, it’s more important to make sure they are in constant connection with their child than it is to focus on feeding them properly. If you fall into this category, you know that mealtime is a long period of talking, sometimes eating less warm food because you prefer to answer most of your little one’s curiosities rather than feeding them quickly.

This category also includes parents who choose to actively involve their child in meal preparation. There are even parents who let their little ones play with food and explore it as they please. Based on the food, family discussions arise: “Who invented chocolate?”, “What was the favorite food of ancient people?” or simple questions like “Why isn’t the carrot green?”.