YOYO Meals is a way to encourage autonomy and independence around meal or snack preparation. Plus it lets parents and caregivers off the hook for a moment!

I have a term in our house called YOYO meals. In a nutshell, YOYO stands for “you’re on your own,” and it means that you make your own food for dinner based on what’s available.

Of course, YOYO could be used for any meal or snack with which you’d like your child to be more independent.

I announce YOYO Night periodically to my family. I’ll say, “Tonight’s a YOYO Night,” or I’ll say, “I have a meeting so it’s a YOYO Night.” Everyone in my family knows exactly what this means.

How a YOYO Meal Can Help Kids

When kids are allowed to make their own meal or snack, it encourages their independence, which is a developmental milestone, especially in the school age years.

Your child is in charge of everything about food – what to eat and how to prepare it. It could be used at breakfast, lunch or dinner. And since I have older kids, it’s frequently used for snack time.

Plus, when kids make their own food it gives you a break from preparing, cooking…and thinking about it. 

And let’s face it—we all need a break sometimes, especially when you’re feeling burnout.

You’re Still Engaged with Positive Feeding

YOYO meals are not a free for all. And don’t confuse independent dinner making with a counterproductive feeding style like uninvolved feeding—the feeding style that places very low priority on food and eating — that’s not the intent at all.

There are boundaries and expectations with letting kids make their own meals, such as giving your child guidance on what food groups to include in the meal, or what is not available to make for a meal.

Setting boundaries and expectations is consistent with being a diplomatic feeder, something we should all strive to be.

Set parameters around what is available to eat, which could be leftovers, breakfast for dinner, or another simple meal idea and let your child decide what they will eat. They are in charge of preparing it (and cleaning up!).

YOYO Meals Can Support Good Eating Habits in Children

Here are 6 important ways YOYO meals can help children in their eating habits and overall development:

1. Kids Get to Practice their Cooking Skills

Letting the kids have a YOYO Night, or for any other meal, lets them experiment, create, and practice their skills at food combinations, cooking, and cleaning up. Whether they are making scrambled eggs or mac and cheese, or simply assembling a sandwich, allowing this independence and ownership of the process feeds their development and self-esteem.

2. Kids Build Confidence in the Kitchen

With a YOYO meal approach, kids get better at navigating the kitchen confidently. Not only do they get better at feeding themselves, they become confident over time in choosing foods to eat.

Another way to encourage independence is to let your child pack his own lunch or make his own snack. It’s a great place to begin shifting some of the meal prep to your child, while guiding them in their food choices.

3. Food Preferences are Satisfied

If you think that it takes a restaurant to satisfy each individual family member’s preferences, think again. When kids build their own meals, their food preferences can be easily satisfied.

Your child can have the meal he or she wants, just like eating at a restaurant.

4. Straight-Forward, Uncomplicated Meals

Kids tend to make simple food items, like brinner (breakfast for dinner), or they may heat up leftovers and add some fruit or veggies to the meal. Although meals may be easy and uncomplicated, they may get messy, especially if your child decides it’s time to experiment in the kitchen. Feel free to set some guidelines around this!

5. Food Learning

The more kids are exposed to food and engage with it, the more they learn about variety, flavor, texture, and how to put food together to make a delicious dish. Building your own meal allows the opportunity to learn about food balance, as well.

6. A Break for Parents 

YOYO meals for kids can give you a night off. You might be surprised to see how well your child does when given the freedom to make his own food.

I know as a parent and a child nutrition expert, if you really want to raise a good eater, you need to have a feeding strategy that works. 

Using a YOYO night and encouraging kids to make their own snacks and meals from time to time can be a tool in your overall family food and feeding strategy.

Have you tried a YOYO meal for your child?

Resources

• Set up a food system and feeding strategy for your family with my flagship course, The Nourished Child Blueprint.
• The Smart Moms Guide to Healthy Snacking
• Kids Thrive at Every Size: How to Nourish Your Big, Small, or In-Between Child for a Lifetime of Health and Happiness

This post was originally posted in August, 2018 and updated August, 2024.