How to Keep Your Dining Table from Looking Like a Battlefield After a Family Meal

How can we, with Hashem's help, teach our children good eating habits with an emphasis on a healthy and nutritious menu?

First golden rule: Start from age zero.
Specifically, from the moment a child begins eating solid food, I serve them a variety of foods without exceptions: finely chopped parsley in the salad, sliced onions, and even a lettuce salad with fresh lemon. This way, they get used to eating a variety of foods without picking out specific seasonings.
When guests join us for dinner, they are amazed by my sweet children, who, with Hashem's grace, eat everything.

Second golden rule: It's very important to eat at least one meal a day with the kids. No TV. No phones. No distractions. At a set time (primarily for physiological reasons).
A family meal means sitting with the children together, at least one of the parents.
Even include the babies, as part of learning proper nutrition is setting a good example.

Here are a few more important steps toward proper nutrition:

* Involve children in meal preparations: When they are young, I choose a child each day as a reward to be the "lunch/dinner assistant."

I give them a cloth to clean the table and utensils for setting up. Together, we set an elaborate table and prepare mentally and physically for the meal.
Of course, it's crucial to instill hygiene habits in children. Wash hands and then sit down.

I place pots and a pitcher of water on the table (sometimes with squeezed lemon and fresh mint if I'm in the mood).
Each child gets a divided plate: a portion of protein, carbohydrates, and vegetables.

* Set the table completely: matching cutlery for the meal; plates for different courses if needed, napkins by the plate, and glasses.
Getting up during the meal to fetch missing items is not a good, comfortable, or healthy habit.

* Express gratitude to Hashem for the food and to Mom/Dad for preparing it.
Encourage compliments on the aroma, appearance, and taste.
Bless with intention and teach your children restraint, even when they're very, very hungry.

* What about a child who refuses to eat?
If a child doesn't like something and doesn't want to eat it, I don't force them! I believe this is one of the reasons for eating disorders and negative associations with food, especially healthy food.
The child doesn't want it? That's perfectly fine. It's their right. Nobody likes being forced to eat something they don't like.
Remember the rule: "There's no accounting for taste" – but still, I serve up everything. Leave what you don't want on the side of the plate; you don't have to eat it.
It's also a matter of table manners (children shouldn't throw food off the plate) and sometimes they might eventually be tempted to try it.