CrabbieMasters – a fun parenting and teaching resource for early childhood

If you use this Crabbie to your advantage, you can teach children healthier eating habits. As always..…NO POWER STRUGGLES…..JUST FUN!!

Eating healthy foods is the first defense against Junk-Food.

When having difficulty getting children to try something new, have them try the food while looking at a picture of Junk-Food and say, “Ha! Ha!! Junk-Food, I ate my peas!” (Believe it or not, we've had this work well!)

You can also try counting the number of bites or number of beans or peas or what ever they will eat. Be very positive (Remember, this would be a great place for falling on the floor in shock and ecstasy!!) about even small amounts and show your excitement as eating ‘three’ grows to ‘five’ or ‘eight’, etc. Use your own judgment to guide expectations. Just don’t expect a lot from a super-picky eater at first.

Trust us – it will get better with the right reinforcement. Building a little with each meal adds up quickly. Even those occasional setbacks are to be expected…you need not worry… just keep at it patiently…and jump up and down with excitement when they start to pick it up again!! Literally! Jump up & down with excitement! Remember, we’re not demonstrating our ability to maintain composure, or worrying about looking crazy for the sake of the family or the neighbors! We’re just trying to get’em to eat!

There is nothing wrong with having a dessert or special treat for good eating. Just make sure you hold tight and give NO TREATS or DESSERT if they don’t do a reasonable job on the good foods.

YOU be the judge!

What you CAN do is say, “If you TRY ‘x’, you can have a bite of a treat.” But, do not give out junk food in place of good food or they will not be motivated to eat healthier.

It truly works to make a BIG DEAL of the fact that lots of kids don’t like certain
foods when they are ‘little’, but as they get ‘bigger’, they begin to like them. Most kids would rather think they are ‘big’, so this usually works. Never turn this around the other way by calling them little for not eating a food they don't like, or saying that if they were ‘BIG’ they would eat it. This will excite The Get-Along Crabbies, and they'll beat you and your child before you know it!

At the very least, use The Junk-Food Crabbies to encourage drinking MILK! Often, it works to drink sips throughout a meal, rather than saving it all for the end. (NOTE: Ignore this idea if there is a milk/lactose tolerance/allergy issue.)