countless clients ask me how they can enjoy a peaceful family meal.
In order to enjoy that vision, we have to teach the skills.
[Give them what they need now]
I have outlined here for you some quick tips so that you can start
enjoying peaceful family meals (or happy meals)!
Remember.... this can be fun and not feel like work!
1. Teach your child how to use utensils properly. They may not
know how to hold a spoon or fork correctly. You can do this by
demonstrating how you hold the utensil. If your child is working
with an occupational therapist, consider having this be part of the
session.
2. Teach your child how to use a napkin. I remember working with
an adorable little boy who thought the napkin was supposed to be his
hat. He wore it during his meals. His parents were not amused
when they dined out. It is better to teach proper use before
any bad habits develop.
3. Teach your child how to chew properly. Some children
experience oral motor difficulties and will need help in therapy to
learn the proper skill.
4. Teach your child how to sit. This sounds so BASIC.....doesn't
it? But this is probably the number one issue my clients have
struggled with.
Some children sit at their seat and take a bite of their food and dart
off to the other room to watch a few minutes of TV and then RUN
back to the table for another bite.....and this cycle continues until the
end of the meal.
Make sure the TV, computer, play room, IPad, IPod, Wii system are
not allowed to be used during dinner time. Teach your child to sit at
the table with his or her family until the meal is over. You can use a
reward to motivate your child to stay seated with you.
Remember to give verbal praise while your child is having dinner with you.
You can say something like, "I really love having dinner with you and I
am so proud that you are sitting at the table like a big boy!"
5. Teach your child to ask for food politely or refuse food
politely. If your child does not want her salad, it's not OK for
her to dump it on the ground. Yes, this happened to one of my
clients.
Every time her daughter was given food she didn't want,
she would simply dump it on the ground. Needless to say, this
caused a lot of stress during meals. We had to teach her the
words, "No thank you."
We also were able to teach her to stop dumping food on the ground
by making HER clean it up. This is a natural consequence, you make
a mess.....you clean it up.
This simple suggestion totally changed her behavior at the dinner table.
She was using her words rather quickly. The same is also true for
requesting food. I have worked with clients who told me that their
children screamed or demanded their favorite foods.
When I asked my clients if they felt comfortable with their child
talking to their teachers in this manner....they were horrified and
replied, "Of course not!"
If you do not want your child screaming and demanding
their favorite meals with their teachers or while they are on a
play date at someone else's home, then they cannot scream at you.
Children learn how they can behave in the world by how they behave
at home. Home is where they learn what is acceptable behavior and
what is not acceptable behavior.
I know this probably sounds like a lot of work to some of you.....but
it's all in how you present it and your attitude. You can approach
this with positivity, a fun spirit and playful happiness.
Trust me....I have worked with families who almost dreaded mealtimes....
who now look forward to it with happiness.
==============================
All you need are some simple, easy to implement strategies you
can begin using immediately, even if your child is still just
a toddler. In fact, it is even MORE crucial that you begin building
a strong foundation while your child is very little...BEFORE they
start school.
Remember, you have 60-days to go through the program
and actually start implementing the strategies with your child.
[Give them what they need now]
I'm confident you will quickly see the effectiveness of them--but
if by chance you are not happy with the Ultimate Autism Solution, no worries.
I will return every last penny and we'll still be friends.
Get your zero risk trial below:
[Give them what they need now]
So why not give it a shot and see what you think? Your
child will be the better for it, and so will you.
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