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When your child was a baby,
they actually decided when to eat.

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You would feed your baby milk on demand.
And then, when you started solids,

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you gently set a framework
for eating meal times.

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However, we want you to also consider
your unique schedule

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and keep in mind
that a part of raising resilient children

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is to also
leave some room for flexibility.

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Moving further along into toddlerhood
means that

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there should be clear indications
for eating times.

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To keep things simple, we call it a zone.
There are eating zones

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and no eating zones. Another way to put it
is the kitchen is open

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and the kitchen is closed.
This is really important for children

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because they need to rely
on a fairly predictable routine.

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At Happy Healthy Eaters,
we want you to be able

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to create a flexible eating routine,
which is invariably going

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to look different from family to family
depending on a variety of factors

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such as childcare activities or work life.
Beyond keeping you sane and on track,

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a flexible routine offers your child
a sense of security and safety.

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Imagine not knowing
when your next meal might be.

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We wholeheartedly recognise
that this is an unfortunate

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and unfair reality
for many folks around the world,

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especially those
who have been systematically oppressed.

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The stress of not being able to predict
your next meal time is impactful,

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even for young children.
It can send signals to the body

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that warrant a fight or flight response.
In addition, a flexible routine

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can help reduce power struggles
between children and their caregivers,

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so you're not running
into constant requests for food.

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Children can also better
develop an appetite,

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and as a result
have better success at mealtimes.

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We also note that families
who follow a routine

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have more balanced eating.
Because your child

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won't be eating all day,
they also protect their oral health.

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We're referring to the enamel
on their teeth.

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And if you're looking for more benefits
of a flexible routine

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for meals and snacks,
you'll be happy to know

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that it can help to regulate
appetite hormones like ghrelin and leptin,

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promote healthy digestion
and bowel movements,

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and finally, it allows children
to grow into bodies

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that are right for them.
We know we're getting you back

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to thinking about those tender baby days,
but remember when you waited

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just a little too long to feed your baby?
What happened?

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Did chaos ensue?
Yep, you get the point.

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You'll want to find that sweet spot
where your child develops enough hunger

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to be interested in eating,
but not so ravenous

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that they become hangry.
Each child is unique,

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but a good rule of thumb
is to create a schedule

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in which a meal or snack
is offered every 2 to 3 hours.

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Remember, this is the average.
You may find that your child

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may need to eat more or less frequently.
Let's go through a few case studies

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together of children
that have been in our practice,

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and how we helped families
create a flexible schedule

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that worked for them and their child.
Here's case one: Preeta

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and the early lunch. Mom Devi came to us
with concerns about Preeta,

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an energetic and adventurous 18 month old.
For context, Preeta naps once daily

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for about 2 to 2.5 hours at 11:30 a.m.,
and she is not nursing.

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Her rough schedule
prior to assessment kind

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of looked like this.
She'd wake up at 7 a.m.,

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have breakfast by 7:30, a snack at 10:00,
11:00 Mom would offer her some lunch,

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11:30 was nap, 2 p.m. was snack time,
and then 5 p.m. was dinner.

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Devi was running into issues
with Preeta declining lunch

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and being incredibly irritable,
mostly because she was tired

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and getting ready to rest,
and she likely had not built up much

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of an appetite
for another eating opportunity.

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We advised Devi to omit the first snack
and instead have an earlier lunch.

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You can see here that Preeta
is offered lunch

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at a non traditional lunchtime,
but that's okay.

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That's what it looks like
to meet your child where they are at.

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Not everyone will have the opportunity
to create a flexible schedule

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like Devi did, but if you can,
you're welcome to offer food

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outside of non traditional eating times.
In this case, Preeta was able to eat

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another well balanced meal
that kept her full enough

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until nap time and beyond.
Since she's only 18 months

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and napping well,
the family didn't feel the need

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to force two snacks into their schedule.
Let's look at Haben.

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Haben is hungry after daycare.
Now this is a case we see often.

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Haben is a 24 month old
that has two working parents

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who work typical daytime shifts
from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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This means he makes it to daycare
for 7:30 a.m.

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and gets picked up by 4:15 p.m.
His daycare serves an afternoon snack

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at 2 p.m.
once the children at the facility

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are awake from their nap.
When the family gets home by 4:45 p.m.,

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he is ravenous. His parents prepare dinner
and serve this around 6 p.m.,

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and by then Haben is far
past the point of hunger

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and is extremely unhappy, and his parents
find it hard to regulate him.

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In this situation, we suggested
that the family

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consider the following two options.
Option A: serve a snack immediately

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as soon as they get home.
This snack can be two food groups

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paired together, nothing thrilling,
just something that's simple

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and it's enough to tide him over.
The expectation then,

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is that Haben will eat
a little less at dinner time

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and that's okay.
And then there was option B:

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when his parents are able to,
they can serve him an early dinner.

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This means they will need to be ready
to serve the dinner right away,

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which isn't always practical
for busy families,

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but albeit, it is an option.
It's unconventional,

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but one suggestion to make this a reality
is to prepare tomorrow's dinner

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after eating today's dinner
so you are always preparing one day ahead.

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That way you can get home from work
and simply reheat

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the food you made yesterday.
In this case, either option is great,

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and the family can bounce between option
A and option B.

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What we love in this case
is that at the end of the day,

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it creates a sense of security for Haben,
whose hunger cues have kicked in long

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before his parents
are ready for the next meal.

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Now Haben can satisfy his hunger fully,
or just enough to keep him satisfied

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until the dinner meal is ready.
His parents are also thrilled

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because Haben is much more regulated,
and they have an opportunity

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to really connect with him
after being apart during the workday.

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Now let's take a look at case three.
This is Judah,

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who happens to be Jessica's oldest son,
and let's look

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at his flexible snack schedule.
When Jessica's son was a toddler

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and she had weaned from nursing,
she decided to add in an afternoon snack

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as she would typically have lunch
around noon

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and supper around 6 p.m. Six hours
is a rather long time

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for a toddler
to go without eating, so it made sense.

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Prior to this, he would typically have
a really good appetite for dinner,

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but she started to notice
that he would barely even nibble

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at dinner time.
So she decided to experiment

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and cut out the afternoon snack.
If she noticed that he was becoming grumpy

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and irritable
or other changes in temperament,

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she would add the snack back in.
Surprisingly, he was fine.

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His appetite for dinner increased again.
He's a bit of an anomaly,

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but his body did best
with only three meals a day.

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Lastly, we wanted to show you how powerful
a visual schedule can be,

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especially for toddlers
and young children.

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Routine charts like this one displayed
are used frequently,

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at nurseries and at school programs
because they can be supportive

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for young children
who can't quite grasp the concept of time.

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In this slide, you can see on the left,
we've shown you

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what a sample schedule
may look like for your toddler.

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We created this using Canva software,
but you could make your own

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using photographs
of your child and items at home.

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Children love that. On the right side,
this is a schedule

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Nita uses to streamline mornings.
With this chart,

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there are less negotiations
about what is being served for breakfast,

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and the children also get a day
where they pick what they'd like to eat.

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Plus, it helps keep their family on track
with variety

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and getting everyone
where they need to be on time.

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In summary, we want you
to be attuned to your child.

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In general, toddlers need the opportunity
to eat every few hours.

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Always keep in mind
that routines are not set in stone.

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They can be adapted as other moving parts
in your life change and shift.

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Trust the process.
You'll find an ebb and flow

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that works for your family.