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Parenting and child development

Division of responsibility in feeding

Ellyn Satter's feeding model: the parent decides what, when and where food is served, and the child decides how much to eat and whether to eat.

What It Means

The Division of Responsibility in Feeding is a model created by Ellyn Satter that splits mealtime decisions between parent and child. In it, the parent is responsible for what food is served, when it's served and where; the child is responsible for how much they eat and whether they eat at all. Her institute publishes it as the Satter Division of Responsibility in Feeding, or sDOR.

Try It: Sort Each Decision to Parent or Child

For each decision, pick whose job it is in Ellyn Satter's model.

What food goes on the table

How much of it to eat

When meals and snacks happen

Whether to eat at all

Where the family eats

Sorted correctly0
Out of5

Hint: the child gets two of the five.

How Parents Say It

  • "I decide what's for dinner, she decides how much."
  • "We're doing the Satter approach at our house."
  • "No, I'm not forcing him to finish his plate."

The Breakdown

Who decides what, in Ellyn Satter's model

The parent decidesThe child decides
What food is servedHow much to eat
When meals and snacks happenWhether to eat
Where eating happens

The parent's jobs, as the Ellyn Satter Institute lists them. Choose and prepare the food, offer meals and snacks at regular times, and make eating times pleasant.

A short version to try today, built on the parent's jobs above.

  1. Set tonight's dinner time and plan one meal for everyone.
  2. Put at least one food your child usually eats on the table beside the rest.
  3. Let your child pick from what's on the table.
  4. Say nothing about how much they eat, and end the meal at the usual time.
  5. Offer the next meal or snack at its regular time.

What the AAP says. HealthyChildren.org, the American Academy of Pediatrics' parenting site, doesn't set out this model in the picky-eater tips the fact check found, but two of its tips point the same way: serve one meal for the whole family, and don't fuss when a toddlerToddlerA child from 1 to 3 years old, the stage CDC's parenting guidance places between infancy and the preschool years. See more refuses a meal, so children learn to use hunger as a guide.

When to talk to the doctor. The model is about how mealtimes run. If your child is losing weight, not growing as expected, or eating fewer and fewer foods, talk to the pediatrician.

Where It Comes From

The model comes from Ellyn Satter, whose institute publishes it as the Satter Division of Responsibility in Feeding, with handouts for families on its own site.

Good to Know

This is one author's approach, credited to Ellyn Satter by name, and the fact check didn't find it adopted as official guidance by CDC or the AAP. Babies and children with medical feeding needs, allergies or growth concerns should follow their doctor's plan first.

FAQ

What is the division of responsibility in feeding?

Ellyn Satter's model for mealtimes. The parent decides what, when and where food is served; the child decides how much and whether to eat.

What if my child eats nothing at dinner?

In Satter's model, whether to eat is the child's decision, and the parent's job is to offer the next meal or snack at its regular time. If skipped meals come with weight loss or poor growth, talk to the pediatrician.

Does the AAP recommend the division of responsibility?

HealthyChildren.org's picky-eater tips give similar advice, like serving one family meal and letting hunger guide a toddler, but the model itself is Ellyn Satter's and is best credited to her.

Do It in Buhata

Meals and Calendar

Set regular meal and snack times on the Calendar in Buhata and plan one family dinner a day in Meals, each with a food your child already eats.

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Related Terms and Categories

  • Limit setting

    Deciding and calmly holding the rules for what a child may and may not do, explained in words the child can understand and followed through every time.

  • Baby-led weaning

    A way to start solids where a baby feeds themselves soft pieces of food from about 6 months instead of being spoon-fed purees.

Parenting and child development

Sources

Ellyn Satter Institute, "Division of Responsibility"; Ellyn Satter Institute, "Ellyn Satter's Division of Responsibility in Feeding" (handout); Ellyn Satter Institute, "Satter Division of Responsibility in Feeding (sDOR)" (2025); HealthyChildren.org (AAP), "10 Tips for Parents of Picky Eaters"

Last updated .