Why don't parents use food as a reward or as a punishment?
If you drink all the milk, we'll play together all afternoon.
If you eat vegetables, I'll give you ice cream.
If you don't finish your plate, I won't give you chocolate.
If you don't eat your meal, I will forbid you to play with your friends.
If you do not eat the fruits, you will be severely punished.
If you don't clean your room, I'll deprive you of soda.
A survey conducted in the Netherlands revealed that two-thirds of mothers use food to modify their children's emotional nutrition throughout the day. The results of the study, which included 359 mothers of primary school children aged 4 to 12 years, showed that 30 percent of Dutch mothers use food outside of main meals to reward their young, 18 percent to punish, and 19 percent. to console them. Perhaps surprisingly, mothers resort to eating foods rich in calories and few in nutrients important for building and developing the body, and the younger the child and his mother, and the lower the social status, the more common. This behavior.
Develop a healthy and healthy relationship with food with the child
It is common for parents to use food as a reward or punishment for a child's behavior, but this behavior may undermine the healthy eating habits that parents try to teach their children, interfere with children's natural ability to regulate their eating, and encourage them to eat when they are not hungry. to reward themselves.
Paying attention to the eating habits of children from a young age is very important, in order to develop a healthy and healthy relationship with food, and therefore food should not be a subject of bargaining, nor should it be used as a reward or punishment or for any purpose other than food because it is the basic component of life.
Food should not be used as a punishment
When a mother tells her child that he should eat vegetables because he is behaving badly, he associates this type of food with punishment, and it is not excluded that his subconscious mind records that eating vegetables is harmful to him, which eventually leads to cultivation. The seeds of hatred towards him, and the result is that the young child understands that eating vegetables is a duty and not a healthy habit.
The same is the case when the child is deprived of the food he loves because of his behavior, when the mother warns her child that he will not eat his favorite sweets because he does not want to eat vegetables, and in this way he associates a child with that. Some foods are punishment and some are reward.
Also, food may not be used as a reward
There is no doubt that instilling healthy eating habits in a child requires the introduction of natural foods filled with the elements of strength and life, and to stay away as much as possible from unhealthy processed or fast foods, and the latter can be allowed from time to time. On some special occasions, but in no way should. It is not used in any way to reward or punish the child, because this behavior makes the child act on the basis of reward and punishment, and does not allow him to think about his actions that the parents want their child to change.
The use of the method of reward and punishment does not lead to a change in the attitude of the child, who deliberately adapts his behavior to suit his own interests. The same thing happens when the parents are not present to watch the child, in which case the system of punishments and rewards is absent, the child is released, enjoys his whims and acts as he pleases beyond his desires. parents.
Consequences of using food as a reward or punishment
The emergence of an unhealthy relationship with food and disappointment in the future.
Consumption of unhealthy foods, as adults often reward their young ones with candy, chips or soda, which are high in sugar, fat and empty calories.
An aversion to healthy and nutritious foods if they have to eat them.
Emotional eating. Offering food as a reward can lead to an unhealthy emotional association between eating certain foods and feeling happy. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, young children may use food to avoid feelings or situations that are difficult for them to deal with.
Having an eating disorder such as anorexia, bulimia, being overweight or obese.
What's the solution?
Experts unanimously agree that using a reward system in which food is not one of its components is the most effective way to engage with a child. Here are a number of non-food alternatives that your child might like:
Praise and it is very effective, especially since it is free and does not cost anything.
Hugs and tenderness.
Offer a poster or a small toy.
Giving extra time to watch TV or video games.
Take time off from chores.
Go to the park, pool, or bowling alley.
Go to the cinema.
Sleeping with friends or playing with them.
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