Helping Children Eat Well: Ellen Satter’s Division of Responsibility in Feeding

Ellen Satter is a therapist, dietitian and author who developed a model for feeding children based on trust and acceptance. This model is known as The Division of Responsibility in Feeding. Adults are responsible for what, where, and when children eat; children choose how much and whether to eat. In other words, parents choose and prepare meals and snacks at regular intervals, help make mealtimes enjoyable, show children acceptable mealtime behaviour, do not allow children to “graze” at times other than snack times and mealtimes, and let children grow up having bodies that are right for them. When the parents trust that children can decide how much and whether to eat, children will eat the amount they need, will learn to eat the foods their parents eat, will grow predictably, and will learn to behave during mealtimes.

Satter stresses that once parents have done their jobs in setting the stage for healthy eating, they must trust that their children will eat enough to grow and develop optimally. Children are born with the innate ability to know how much and when to eat. This can be observed from birth. An infant will signal when she is hungry by opening her mouth and rooting for the nipple (or crying if these signals are missed by the parent). When she is full, she will turn her head away and refuse to eat.

The result of trusting that your children can make their own decisions about how much and when to eat, children develop healthy eating habits for life, and learn to listen to their bodies’ signals for hunger and satiety. For these reasons, it is important not to coerce a child to eat when they are not hungry or use food or treats as a reward for good behaviour. Many of our parents told us phrases such as “there are starving children that would like to eat your food”, or “you can have dessert after you eat ALL of your supper” to make us eat more. These statements do little to help your children develop better eating habits, and may have detrimental effects. As well, being too restrictive about what children can and cannot eat may lead to unhealthy attitudes towards food as well.

If you’d like more information about Ellen Satter’s model of feeding, here is a list of her books:

“Child of Mine, Feeding with Love and Good Sense,” Bull Publishing, 2002.

“Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family,” Kelcy Press, 1999.

"How to Get Your Kids to Eat ... But Not Too Much.” Bull Publishing, 1987.