Erin’s never been one to try lots of different foods, well apart from when she was a baby and would eat anything (including thai green curry!) Recently however, things had gotten worse she was eating little other than bread, plain rice or pasta along with fruit and some veg. It wasn’t critical, she was still eating most food groups but was completely unwilling to try anything new, making it difficult to eat as a family.

Introducing Littlemummy’s Marble Shop

In a bid to bribe encourage her to attempt new dishes and eat more of the good stuff I opened Mummy’s Marble Shop. Each meal she eats in full (no quibbles) she earns a marble which can be exchanged for one treat (small sweet, one biscuit, a desert). Each meal she doesn’t even try she loses a marble. Each half finished meal earns nothing, but no marble is taken away either. The system has been working well and I’ve noticed that not only is she eating more good stuff she’s also trying new things and because her treats are rationed she eats less of them too. She knows if there’s no marble then the shop is closed. Erin seems to love trying to earn marbles and exchange them for her own choice of treat/desert, taking responsibility of a balanced diet herself and eradicating the constant nagging for sweets. It’s out of my hands and off my conccious whether she’s allowed a treat or not, it’s up to her when she uses her marbles

As we introduce pocket money I think I’m going to add in an extra rule where she can ‘sell’ her marbles to me for X amount which she can then save for a toy or whatever further encouraging her to reduce her ‘spending’ on sweets and save towards toys or books.

Do you have a similar system? How do you manage to get your kids eating well whilst controlling their junk intake?

Photo by flickr user whodenee