Preschool

When I announce that dinner’s ready, four-year-old Sebastian is more upset than eager. “I’m not hungry!” he says. “I want to keep playing hockey with Uncle Dan!”

Sebastian, in fact, has a long list of things that are more interesting, fun and important to him than eating — and he’s not the only preschooler who feels this way.

“Worrying about their child not eating enough is almost a universal concern among parents of preschoolers,” says Robert Issenman, president of the Canadian Paediatric Society. “But preschoolers actually need only about 100 or 200 more calories than a one-year-old.”

Plus, children this age are caught up in learning about the world and exploring the environment (or, in Sebastian’s case, playing hockey). They just aren’t focused on food because there are so many other interesting things to do.

Tara Leigh Vandermeulen says her five-year-old daughter, Maggie, often insists she’s not hungry, but then qualifies it. “She says, ‘The top part of my stomach is for good food and it’s full, but the bottom part is for junkie food and it’s not full yet.’” She helpfully points out the different sections of her belly, and then holds her hand out and asks for a cookie that she’s confident will fit into the “junkie food section.”

Pretty typical, says Issenman. “Children this age are developing their own tastes, and trying to exert more control over their environment. They choose foods that taste good to them and are easy for them to eat.” Hence the preference for snacks like juice, chocolate bars and other munchies.

While your child may not seem to be eating enough to survive on, Issenman says researchers who have actually recorded what preschoolers eat find that, over time, children do get sufficient calories and nutrients — provided healthy foods are made available to them.

“It’s natural for parents to worry,” says Issenman, “but try not to let that worrying turn into nagging your child about food or turning mealtimes into a power struggle.”

Instead, a parent’s job is to offer a variety of nutritious foods. Your child’s job is to decide how much to eat. If you each do your part, Issenman promises, it will work out.

Originally published in Today's Parent, January 2007