10 Essential Holiday Eating Habits Parents Forget to Teach

You know how the experts are always saying, particularly around holidays like Thanksgiving, that it’s important to make sure your kids have a healthy meal before they hit the sweets?

Well, the research points in another direction.

Even though the argument sounds logical—kids are less likely to overdo the sweet delights if they’re not hungry—there are two problems with this line of thinking: it doesn't work and it teaches the wrong lessons.

• Studies show that over 90% of children will eat highly desirable sweets and treats even if they’ve just eaten. Even if they’re full.
• Shouldn’t we teach children to save room for dessert instead of teaching them that it’s normal to eat treats on a full tummy?

Eating in the absence of hunger. We all do it. Especially at Thanksgiving. In fact, it’s the rare bird—sorry for the holiday pun!—who passes up pie just because he’s stuffed himself with, well, stuffing.

Here’s one, small but relevant, study.¹ A group of four-year-olds were offered a “highly palatable” snack 15 minutes after lunch:

• Over 80% of the children said they were “full” or “very full” following lunch.
• 100% of the kids ate some portion of the snack.

Note: This happened in the privacy of the children's own home, when there was no festive atmosphere, and no one else eating to influence the kids' consumption. Imagine what happens during holidays.

The researchers concluded: Food consumed during the Eating in the Absence of Hunger phase appeared to be motivated by hedonic hunger, not physiological hunger.

Sounds like Thanksgiving to me: A holiday where hedonic hunger—not physiological hunger—rules the day.

This year, instead of worrying about getting healthy food into your kids on Thanksgiving, teach them the kinds of useful habits they’ll need for a lifetime of healthy holiday eating.

Remember, it's not always what you eat that matters. Sometimes, other aspects of eating— when, why and how much—matter a heck of a lot more.

10 Essential Holiday Eating Habits Kids Need to Learn:

1. There’s going to be a lot of food, so pace yourself. Remember, young children don’t know what kinds of food are coming out and when, so they’re susceptible to overeating early on in the day. In other words, teach…
2. Save room for the food that’s yet to come. You might want to share the menu.
3. If you’re hungry before the main meal, eat just enough to take the edge off.
4. Taste a little of everything you think you might want to eat. Then…
5. Eat only the foods you really like. Skip the ones that aren’t your favorites. Even if this means skipping the veggies, or possibly hurting Grandma’s feelings.
6. You don’t have to be hungry to eat. Teaching children that hunger is the “gateway” to pie is a great way to teach them to distance themselves from their own hunger and satiety signals. That’s a recipe for a lifetime of overeating.
7. People often eat because something looks good, especially on holidays. When this happens, eat a smaller portion. Better yet, put a portion aside to eat later.
8. Holidays are a great time to taste test without any pressure. So much food…so many different chefs…even things that look familiar might have a different spin.
9. Bookend Thanksgiving with healthy eating in the days before and after. This is Big-Picture Proportion (eating healthy food most often). Kids need to learn this lesson explicitly, so don’t just ban treats the days before and after the holiday. Explain what you’re doing.
10. You can be trusted around food. And if your kids make a mistake by eating too much this year, the experience will help them learn to eat differently in the future.

As parents, we have a tendency to control what our children eat, rather than to teach them how to eat the right way.

Here are some final thoughts to consider:

• Restriction makes the heart grow fonder. Don't ban sweets and treats.
• “Saving” kids from themselves (by not giving them control over their consumption) doesn’t give children an opportunity to learn.
• Children can’t get onboard with the plan if you haven’t told them the plan.
• Don’t underestimate your kids. Children, even young ones, are capable of a lot more than we think. (But not if we leave them to just figure it out themselves.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Changing the conversation from nutrition to habits.~

¹ Harris, H., K. M. Mallan, S. Nambiar, and L. A. Daniels. 2014. “The Relationship Between Controlling Feeding Practices and Boy's and Girls' Eating in the Absence of Hunger.” Appetite 15: 519-22.

© 2014 Dina Rose, PhD, is the author of the book, It’s Not About the Broccoli: Three Habits to Teach Your Kids for a Lifetime of Healthy Eating (Perigee Books). She also writes the blog It's Not About Nutrition.