How to Convince a Child to Eat Dinner

Whether not eating dinner is a long-standing problem or a new phase, it's frustrating for any parent. Tactics, such as insisting your child clean her plate or having lengthy discussions with her about the benefits of eating a healthy diet, tend to be ineffective at best and may even make the problem worse, according to HealthyChildren.org. A more subtle approach, such as controlling your child's environment, might be more likely to convince her to eat dinner while preventing conflict at dinnertime.

Instructions

    • 1

      Serve mostly nutritious snacks. Pack your own healthy snacks for outings, such as carrots or fruit, to ensure plenty of healthy options are available. Your child will be less likely to turn down a healthy dinner if he hasn't been filling up on junk food all day.

    • 2

      Set a schedule and stick to it. Children need to eat about every four hours, which is typically three meals and two snacks a day, reports "Parents." Following a routine will help regulate your child's appetite, increasing the likelihood she'll be hungry at dinner.

    • 3

      Remove all distractions at dinnertime, including television and computer games. If the main task in front of them is eating, children will be more likely to comply.

    • 4

      Offer a variety of healthy foods at dinner, allowing your child to choose how much and which foods he wants to eat. KidsHealth suggests that giving children choices might make the dinner experience more positive, increasing the likelihood that they'll want to eat.

    • 5

      Encourage your child to participate in meal preparation. Choosing which produce to buy at the store and measuring and mixing ingredients all increase your child's interest in and ownership of the meal, increasing the likelihood that she'll eat, according to KidsHealth.

    • 6

      Eat a healthy diet yourself. KidsHealth suggests that children will follow the example their role models set at the dinner table. Model behaviors like trying all of the foods served and eating adequate proportions.

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      Make dinner fun. Encourage your child to tell you about her day. Tell jokes. Serve small, fun portions, or carve smiley faces in her mashed potatoes. Having your child look forward to spending the dinner hour with you can only help the situation.

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