Tiffani Thiessen is ready to stop the family food negotiations, interview

For many parents, family food negotiations can test the patience of even the mother of the year. Even Tiffani Thiessen appreciates those food battles with the kids can become too tiring. Through a recent partnership with Nutri-Grain, Thiessen shared some relatable mom moments that just might make those epic stare downs a little less dramatic.

According to a recent Nutri-Grain survey, “of parents negotiate food choices with their kids at least six times per day with each negotiation lasting at least six minutes, totaling nine days a year. And, parents would rather clean the toilet, give up coffee or fold laundry than spend one more minute negotiating with their kids about food.”

That information is astounding. Given that parents can fit so many things in a single day, just think of all the extras if food negotiations were removed. Nine days could make for a pretty great vacation, right? Well, Nutri-Grain and Tiffani Thiessen think so.

During a recent conversation with FoodSided, Tiffani Thiessen shares some relatable food negotiations moments.

Often parents have two big negotiation issues in the house, food and bedtime. For Thiessen, food can be the most contested conversation. She said, “the food negotiation has always been a much bigger deal for me, and I feel like because there’s multiple times in the day that you need to eat. While bedtime is only one time a day.”

Recalling a particular story in her house, Thiessen share a story about her daughter, Harper. When Harper was younger, she had a day where “she was adamant about not eating broccoli.” For whatever reason, that day was the time where she didn’t want the broccoli on the plate. In what seemed to be a “four hour stare down,” that hour long battle was tough. Even though Thiessen “stuck to my guns.” Her daughter eventually finished it.

This example is just what Nutri-Grain is highlighting. Most parents can relate to that battle. Even if a few minutes can be taken away from those battles, it is a big win for parents.

Like most parents, life is about making the most of time. Even Thiessen subscribes to eating in the car. As she said, “you have to fit it in somewhere. I eat in the car, so I have no problem with my kids eating in the car.”

While the car is an eating zone, Thiessen has a hard “no” about eating in this spot. Her rule is “I don’t like food upstairs.” Although she might have grown up with a TV tray, she prefers food to be enjoyed at the table. And, most definitely, no food bed.

As Theissen shared, “food is bed is an absolute no.” She does not want to “roll around in a bunch of crumbs.” While you can bring her coffee in bed on Mother’s Day, skip that breakfast tray.

After enjoying a good chuckle, we both could agree that moms always must be on their toes with kids. From food negotiations to just daily activities, every minute of the day is filled, which is why the Nutri-Grain study can be quite helpful.

More importantly, Nutri-Grain wants to give back those nine days spent on food negotiations. As Sarah Reinecke, Senior Marketing Director at Kellogg Co. “While Nutri-Grain cannot solve every family food negotiation, we can help families reclaim some of that precious time with a win-win snack made with real fruit that kids love, plus whole grains that parents can feel good about. When you spend less time negotiating over food, you have more time to do the things you love with the people you love.”

And, which Nutri-Grain flavor is favorite in the Thiessen household? She shared that strawberry is her family’s favorite.

Are you ready to get back some of that wasted time spent on food negotiations? Do you have a funny family food story to share?