It goes against everything we were taught, but it may actually be beneficial to serve dessert at the same time you serve your entree! Here are three reasons why you should serve dessert WITH the meal:
1) When children know dessert is coming as soon as they finish their meal, they often rush eating dinner so that they can have dessert sooner. Instead of teaching your kids to eat slowly, savor their food, and enjoy family mealtime, they learn to eat as fast as possible so they can have something sweet! Serving dessert with the meal discourages this.
2) Children may be less interested in eating dinner and not finish it because they want to save room for dessert. This can backfire when your child picks at his dinner, has a small helping of dessert, then is hungry after dinner because he didn’t eat much. You might find yourself bringing out dinner again to feed him, which is frustrating for everyone involved. Remember not to force your child to finish his dinner in order to get dessert. This can lead to overeating and teaches him to ignore what his own body is telling him (that he might be getting too full for dessert).
3) Serving dessert with the meal takes the pressure off mealtime and makes it more relaxing! Try giving a small portion of dessert and dinner together. Let your kids eat the foods in whatever order they choose, and don’t comment on their decision. You may surprise yourself and feel less stressed with the actual meal once you know that your children ate a small helping of dessert first, and now they have plenty of time to relax and eat what you have cooked!
Give it a try! Let us know in the comments below if serving dessert with the meal has made your family’s mealtime more relaxing.