Tonight's Dinner is Goldfish Crackers

Feeding kids is hard

It’s summertime, so I am recovering from traveling with children. It’s a perfect time for a post packed with amazing resources about the challenges of feeding kids these days. Since this is a linked-packed post, there is no podcast version this week. A brief hello here:

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Same house, different eaters

Before kids, I knew exactly how we would feed them. We wouldn’t feed them chicken nuggets and then they wouldn’t want them all the time. We wouldn’t make kid and grown-up food; we would all eat the same things. And so on… we all know how this goes. Did anyone else have it all figured out, too? Well four kids later along with some food allergies, feeding differences, and a big dose of reality, I have a very different perspective.

One of my children eats this for lunch:

Veggie patty with avocado, raspberries and milk

And another child prefers this for lunch:

Goldfish or bust!

They live in the same house, They have the same parents. And all the exposure to food and eating habits is the same. Feeding kids is hard, stressful and confusing. You want them get what they need to grow, have a good relationship with food and their body and not lose your own mind in the process.

And that is why today’s post is full of great resources. So let’s get right into it.

• Virginia Sole-Smith
  writes the Burnt Toast newsletter and hosts the podcast of the same name, has many great resources through her newsletter. Here are two great posts to get started:

The Burnt Toast Guide to Family Dinner

The Burnt Toast Guide to Division of Responsibility

She is also the author of two books that I have enjoyed and found helpful:

• The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America*

• Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture*

Another helpful book:

• How to Raise an Intuitive Eater: Rasing the Next Generation with Food and Body Confidence* by Sumner Brooks, MPH, RDN and Amee Severson MPP-D, RDN

Helpful website and cookbook:

• Amy Palanjian
  ’s website yummytoddlerfood.com and cookbook, Yummy Toddler Food: Dinnertime SOS: 100 Sanity-Saving Meals Parents and Kids of All Ages Will Actually Want to Eat*

More “food for thought” on a whole lot of different topics on food and kids:

• Dinner with Little Kids is Hard from

  Tory Stroker

• Kids + Sugar= “Bad” Behavior? from

  Dr. Cara Goodwin, PhD

• Should kids have iPads at restaurants? from

  Jacqueline Nesi, PhD

• Children’s Books about farmer’s markets from

  Sarah Miller

• What to feed my picky toddler from

  Ashley Fenker

• 7 Delicious Books of Ice Cream from

  Sri Juneja

• Ten Crazy Things I’ve Learned About Foodborne Illness from

  Melinda Wenner Moyer

• I’ve Lost Control of my Picky Eaters from

  Kylie-Ann

• Can I Have Another Snack? Podcast Episode hosted by Laura Thomas, PhD, RNutr: The Mental Load of Feeding a Family w/ Dietitian Maeve Hanna

  

  Another preferred “meal” for one child.

Have you found helpful resources around feeding your kids?

Good luck my fellow parents, remember we are all just doing the best we can. I hope you have a delicious week.

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As always—Just a little reminder: The content on Mindful Mom in the Mud posted by Dr. Kathryn Barbash, PsyD on the Instagram account (@drkathrynbarbash), Youtube Channel (@mindfulinthemud) and newsletter (mindfulinthemud.substack.com) or any other medium or social media platform is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical, clinical, legal and professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. Reliance on any information provided by Mindful Mom in the Mud is solely at your own risk. Always seek the advice of your licensed mental health professional or other qualified health provider.

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