Food is used as a reward for many types of good behaviour, such
as eating dinner or vegetables, using a potty, good behaviour at
nursery etc. It's really tempting when faced with a little one who
just won't eat his dinner to say "If you eat it all up you can have
some pudding."
However, foods used as rewards tend to be high in fat, salt or
sugar, such as chocolate, biscuits, crisps, sweets and puddings.
Using these kind of foods as rewards has its drawbacks:
- It encourages unhealthy eating
- It teaches children to eat when they are not hungry
- It teaches children to reward themselves with food i.e.
'comfort eating'
- It makes some foods appear to be better or more desirable than
others and can further discourage children from eating the healthy
foods you want them to eat
It's important to first think about why you are rewarding your
child. If it is for doing something you would expect them to do
normally like eating their dinner, do you really need to reward
them? This could build problems in the longer term if you have to
offer a reward every time you give them a meal. If your little one
won't eat their dinner, it may just be that they are not hungry.
Check they are not filling up on snacks and high calorie drinks
shortly before meal times.
If you think you need to reward your little one, here are some
ideas for non-food rewards that may help break the association
between good behaviour and treat foods:
- Stickers on a reward chart
- Colouring book
- Coloured pencils
- Watching a favourite dvd
- Extra story at bedtime
- Bubble blowing
- Lots of praise and enthusiasm
Non-food rewards can help to encourage good eating behaviour but
some research has shown that the best way to do this is to set a
good example yourselves. If your little one sees their parents,
siblings and other family members eating healthily, they will be
more likely to do so themselves.
Another factor to bear in mind is that if your child is refusing
food, offering the disliked food on many separate occasions (at
least eight) may help your little one overcome their dislike.
To summarise:
- Avoid using food as a reward for good behaviour
- Non-food rewards can help your child learn good behaviour
- Eat healthily in front of your little one and encourage
relatives and friends to do so too
- If your child refuses food, don't get stressed, just calmly
take it away and offer it again on a later occasion.