Stay relaxed while eating

In practice, we often hear two sentences about this: "Oh, my child hardly eats anything" or alternatively "My child doesn't eat anything healthy". Of course, the topic of food in its entirety cannot be explained in a short text, but I would like to share with you one aspect that is super important to me.

If your child is doing well, if your child is fit and active and jumping around, if the values for length and weight are correct at the check-ups, and if your child is not dramatically ill, then your child is eating what they need and what is necessary for their development.

I admit that this can sometimes be really strange. I can still remember it well with my own children. There are times when children eat Maultaschen and Saitenwürstle or a bit of potato salad for weeks on end. But if the children are fit, it's not a problem.

What I have also realised over the years: The more fuss parents or even grandparents make about food, the more complicated it gets and the worse it usually works out. That's why my most important tip when it comes to food: Stay relaxed as long as your child is doing well.

But of course it is also clear that we parents are responsible for ensuring that our children do not have unlimited access to extremely unhealthy foods. So, for example, that the children don't drink iced tea or eat biscuits all day long. We are also responsible for ensuring that meals are coordinated. This means that the children eat at the table with their parents - and don't run around the house during the meal. As parents, we need to focus on these things.

What else the children eat, whether they eat a little more or less or a little healthier or not so healthy, I advise them to be very relaxed. And then strange eating habits normalise most quickly. Then eating is what it should be: A nice, cosy thing.