Ep. 39: Feeding Elementary Schoolers: Your Questions Answered!

This episode is the second in our four-part age series on answering questions about feeding children at various stages of development (preschoolers, elementary schoolers, middle schoolers, and high schoolers).

In this episode, Anna Mackay, Anna Lutz, and Elizabeth Davenport discuss feeding elementary schoolers. They define elementary school age as age 5 to about age 11. We discuss:

Creating structure around meal and snack times
Navigating snack times without food commentary
How to approach your child with curiosity if they aren’t eating lunch at school and if sensory input is overwhelming
Navigating sugar intake without making your child feel excluded
Recommendations for when an elementary school child does not want to engage in formal physical activity
How to simplify and structure the meal time process, including dessert
What a parent or caregiver could do if a child doesn’t eat dinner but is hungry before bed