How to teach your child to know if they are hungry by Sophie Cross
If you have a small child or even a large one who just hasn't learnt to tell when he or she is actually hungry, then this could be a great little test for you. As a parent and as someone who also finds it rather hard to turn down tasty food at any time, I too found it quite useful.
The thing is about hunger is that in these days of snacks on tap, kids and adults are very rarely actually hungry. They just pop in food at regular intervals so actually their stomachs are probably never even approaching empty.
After physical activity, after school, in the evenings – all key times when kids are prone to overload. I have never seen a child eat so much in quick succession as my daughter. When she gets in from school she shovels things down like she hasn't eaten for days, when I know she had a good lunch and snacks in the morning. Yes she's probably hungry to begin with but after the first snack, she's probably just on a roll.
She isn't overweight at all. She's only nine, and she has sports at school every day and is still constantly moving and growing. The concern is that once children slow down growth-wise, but keep up the same eating habits, they'll suddenly balloon and their weight could very easily and quickly get out of control.
Teaching children to understand about healthy eating and healthy vs unhealthy food is very important. But so too is teaching them, as early as possible, how to register when they're actually hungry as opposed to thirsty (the main culprit for feeling like you're hungry), bored, worried or just being greedy!
Sometimes people eat just because there is more food on the table or because they are tired or sad or bored. Asking children (or yourself!) these questions before eating can help get to grips with what they're really feeling.
The test is a great way to help you and your child to think about what they're eating and why and can help them start to understand the difference between eating for the sake of it, and eating because they're actually hungry.
Have a go at playing through them with your child. Get them to ask themselves the following:
Has it been a few hours/long time since I last ate?
Yes
No
Your body needs energy from food every few hours.
Drink a glass of water. Wait 20 to 30 minutes. Then ask yourself, "Am I still hungry?"
Yes
No
Sometimes you may think you are hungry. Then when you drink a glass of water, you realize you were just thirsty.
Would drinking a glass of milk or eating a piece of fruit make my hunger go away?
Yes
No
Any food will help you feel better when you are really hungry, physically hungry. If you're not hungry enough to eat a piece of fruit, then you can probably wait a while to eat.
If your child answers "yes" to any of these questions, then chances are theyare physically hungry.
If your child answers "no" to any of these questions, then hunger may not be the issue. They may be trying to fix another problem -- like feeling sad or stressed with food. Food can't fix feelings.
What Do I Need to Feel Better?
If your child answered "no" to any of the questions about hunger, they can then ask themselves the following to help figure out what they're feeling and how to fix it.
What feeling do I have?
Bored
Angry
Sad
Lonely
Tired
Stressed
Overwhelmed
Afraid
What can I do to help me to feel better? (Check any of the following or write down two other ideas.)
Play a game
Go outside
Call a friend
Talk to a family member
Start the thing that I'm avoiding -- cleaning my room, doing my homework or practicing my instrument.
Keep Checking In and Practise Not Reaching Out For The Treat Tin
If you or your child finds he or she often answer "no" to the hunger questions then chances are the eating is to solve feelings or problems, not hunger.
Unfortunately feelings and problems can't be solved by chocolate or ice cream or biscuits and just end up making us feel guilty instead…and often this can lead to a long and treacherous toxic relationship with food.
Not only that but your problem is still unsolved! You feel bad and you feel guilty. That's not healthy.
So make the choice to feel better. Saying no to the food option is hard the first time, but it gets easier and you and your kids will feel so much better and healthier when you take real actions to solve your problems and don't simply reach out for that snack.
Keep practicing. We all feel so much better when we take actions to help solve problems in a healthy way and not with food.
Sophie Cross is a public relations consultant and writer who has publicised and written about everything from makeup to The Muppets, child care to celebrity chefs and perfume to Partners in Population and Development! Originally from the UK and as a languages graduate she has worked around the world, living in Australia for the last 11 years where she runs, PR Chicks. Read Sophie's blog
