06/17/2026
I know it seems counterintuitive.
If your child is eating like they canât get enough, the last thing you want to do is offer more.
But the number one reason kids eat like they donât have an off-switch, is a feeling of scarcity. Deprivation. A sense of restriction around food.
When kids feel like they canât have as much as they want or need, they try to get more. It feels urgent to eat because the food doesnât feel available. So they eat like it might disappear.
This is what I call reactive eating: not eating because theyâre hungry, but eating because they feel like they canât have more.
Asking âdid you get enough?â does two things.
It gives them permission. It tells them: youâre allowed to have what you need. Iâm not limiting you. I trust you with food. You can listen to your body. That permission alone starts to take the urgency out of eating.
And it also redirects them back to their own body. Instead of eating in reaction to feeling like they canât have more, theyâre being âtoldâ to check in with their body. To ask themselves: Did I get enough?
I know it feels like the opposite of what makes sense. And it is. When weâre uncomfortable with how much theyâre eating, of course we want to limit it.
But more permission is what actually makes them feel safe to stop eating when theyâve had enough. So they donât eat reactively.
And also- if youâve never had a pasta sandwich⊠let me tell you about it! Inspired my kid that doesnât really like pasta, so he always puts it on his bread to eat itâŠ
Sprinkle a piece of sourdough with mozzarella, layer (leftover) pasta with sauce (warmed), another layer of mozzarella, top with your second piece of bread and grill like a grilled cheese. 10 out of 10 đ
And hit follow for more recipes đ€Ș
