Clear roles are important to encourage healthy eating habits. What roles could you consider? How about these:

• The parent's role is to offer a variety of nutritious foods. Offer foods that you want your child to eat. 
• Your child’s role is to decide which of those foods, and how much of each, they want to eat.

When you follow these roles, mealtimes may be easier. Let your child trust their body and their hunger cues. Practice these roles at every meal and snack. Aim to have at least one meal together each day to get in the routine of practicing these roles. It is important not to bribe your child with food or offer food for rewards for good behavior. It is also important not to take food away from a child for a behavior you are trying to manage. 

“You are responsible for what, when, and where. Your child is responsible for how much and whether he eats the foods you offer. When you do your jobs with feeding, your child will do his with eating.” -Ellyn Satter

Use the table below to identify the important roles each person plays in meal and snack times.¹ 

Extended text for visually impaired

“Trust your child to grow predictably in the way that is right for him.” -Ellyn Satter 

Source:
1. Satter, E. Eat and Feed with Joy. Ellyn Satter Institute. Retrieved May 3, 2020, from https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/.