ABSTRACT
Eating is a most pressing issue for those looking after young children. Ursula Wise is acutely aware of the emotive quality of food and eating, where both the child and the adult are complicit. Wise's response, invariably, is that the adults are unnecessarily anxious and demanding about it – this is the main challenge to be confronted. Being able to have some distance on the situation and giving the child both enough space and time to eat is key. Ursula Wise suggests ideas about how to implement this, as well as reassuring her readers that her advice is backed up by research. Her tips, which are practical and direct, generally seem to have withstood the test of time – many could be found in parenting handbooks today. Wise sees the advantages of sharing mealtimes with other children – such sociability can reduce the intensity of the meal and children can provide very good distractions and examples for each other.
