31 Days Challenge- Day 22: Catch Them Eating Good

There's an educational/ classroom management strategy known as, "Catch Them Being Good."

The idea is to focus on, and pay attention to, the positive behaviors that you would like children to repeat.

Your challenge for today, is to focus on the positive and make sure that your children know that you have noticed. This should not be "false praise." Children will see through that; but instead, change your focus, change your lens, so that you notice the positive and then make note of it.

There are several ways that you can do this:

*Point out a positive eating behavior while they are eating.  "I'm so glad that you tried... you're becoming such an adventurous eater."
*Talk about something positive that they did recently, even before they start a meal. "You've been doing such a good job eating your dinners lately. You're really growing up."
*"Gossip," so that your child overhears you, about your child's eating habits to another friend or family member. "Guess what? Jane ate all of her salad last week. It's so great that she's choosing to be a healthier eater. She's really working hard at it."
*Tell a family member or friend about a positive behavior you've noticed and have them relay what they heard, "Your mom told me that you..."

Even if you're struggling with an extremely picky eater, try to find something positive to praise. Purposely serve them something that they like that is healthy and then really build them up for eating it.

What positive eating behaviors are you noticing in your children?