How to Teach Khalil to Love Eating

Khalil is a child of three and a half, of moderate health, inclined to thinness; he is strong and active, but like all children of his age he balks at taking his meals, until his mother came to believe that he ate nothing at all, and was driven to picking out nourishing foods so that by taking them he might make up for what he was missing — and this led to strife and quarreling at mealtimes.

At last, Khalil's mother decided to change her attitude toward him completely. For how could his appetite for food be coaxed along amid all this harassment? The first thing she thought of was to change her policy with Khalil, for she had realized at last that happiness and comfort at mealtime are the best means of winning a healthy appetite.

Here is a series of pictures presenting the different ways a mother can follow to help her children untie the obscure points and the difficult knots.

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1 – Khalil's face darkened when he caught sight of the scrambled eggs; he grumbled and complained and threw the food on the floor.

He loves pickles, and his mother promised him one after he ate the eggs.

He hates eating.

His tears pour down in floods.

2 – Here is Khalil's mother setting to work to solve the case!

Khalil helps his mother shell the chickpeas while she cuts up the carrots. They talk and laugh together over the preparations, and from time to time she puts a piece of carrot in her own mouth — but she did not invite him to take one!

The Sunday cake — his mother asked him to bring the eggs and the eggbeater, and he stood at first watching the work, then wanted to join in.

Now it is Mother's turn. She took the scraper and began running it over the vegetables, and Khalil took a piece of carrot between his teeth — but she paid him no attention at all!

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What child can contain himself at the sight of the eggbeater, and not want to try his own hand at it, and then watch the whites thickening like soap lather?

3 – The mother brought the cut-up vegetables, then invited Khalil to stir them over the fire, and stood watching what would happen. It is a complicated operation — but a delightful one...

4 – His mother said to him: let us count the little bubbles — but of course they could not keep it up to the end... Khalil laughed at his mother for her failure to count the bubbles! The cake was ready; the mother cut it, spread a layer of butter over it, and a little syrup, saying: this is how Papa likes it...

Then she went off to finish some of the housework, leaving nature to run its course. Look what happened — Papa is going to need another cake!

5 – Table manners are not enforced in a case like this; the child prefers to lick the syrup from the plate to the very last drop!

6 – What a change has come about! Khalil has exchanged his anger and his tears at the table for merry companionship.

No one forces him now to take his food, or bothers him; he eats without a struggle — and with all that, he has come to love scrambled eggs...

Khalil loves drinking milk. He crowds up against his mother... he wants another glass of milk!!

Khalil's appetite for food may remain limited for several years, but he takes the food he needs. Tactful parents get the awaited result in situations like these.

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