Picky Eater: Understanding Your Pre-Toddler or Toddler's Picky Eating and Tips to Help

Picky Eater: Understanding Your Pre-Toddler or Toddler's Picky Eating and Tips to Help

Do you ever find yourself sitting at the dinner table trying to get your picky eater to try a new food and then wonder why your child has become the picky eater that you are seeing before you? You may have had a baby that would eat anything and now your toddler is staring at you and saying NO to you and refuses to eat anything. This is not uncommon for a child when he is in the pre-toddler or toddler stage. Fussy eating simply arrives with your child's realization of his or her own individuality.

As children become more aware of the world around them, they become picky eaters. They would rather have sweet foods such as ice cream over those brussel sprouts that you are trying to get them to eat. Wouldn't you? A child will prefer a fatty food such as ice cream because it has a smooth texture to it and feels good on their tongue, rather than a brussel sprout that tastes bitter to them. That's just common sense.

Observe your child and see what your fussy eater prefers when it comes to food texture. If your picky eater prefers crunchy foods over creamy foods, then try serving your child raw vegetables over cooked foods. Most vegetables are naturally sweeter when they are raw and this is a good way to get your picky eater to actually enjoy eating them.

As a parent, remember that even you have your own likes and dislikes when it comes to food, so forcing yourpicky eaterto eat something that he does not like will not work, no matter what you do, and you'll likely cause more damage than good because your child has now learned that eating is stressful and not a fun experience, which only makes him hate the process of eating even more.You always want to encourage yourchildto try a variety of foods and if you have served a food that he has tried and rejected, then respect his decision; try again another day. Over time, if you continually serve the food that your child rejected, without forcing him, he may be more apt to try it again. Again, don't force it because he'll just learn to hate it.

Here are a couple of ideas to try that are based on some basic knowledge of child psychology:

1. We are all influenced by what we see on television. Advertisers know how to influence children and they use animated characters in television advertisements to appeal to children. Your baby giggles at an animated monkey; your toddler wants ice cream because a cartoon duck is eating an ice cream cone. Advertisers know this. Everywhere you turn, there's a cartoon character trying to sell to your child. Knowing this, when you are trying to encourage and tempt your picky eater, it certainly would not hurt if you can somehow incorporate animated characters into the process - you are probably wondering how you can do that. I'll tell you later.

2. A pre-toddler or toddler's eating habits are also influenced by what she sees her peers are doing. For example, a fussy eater that consistently sees another child or sibling eating foods that she previously rejected is more apt to give in to the peer pressure and then find that after a period of time she actually enjoys eating the new food. Children will tend to eat just like other kids and they want to be accepted, so influence by peers will play a big part in whether or not your child will accept or reject a new food. (If you never fell to peer pressure when you were a kid, then you are a rare breed indeed.)

For a uniquemethod that uses both animation and peer pressure to help your picky eater, check out a DVD program called "Eat, Baby, Eat!" It's the only video program on the market that utilizes these concepts to specifically address picky eating.

POST COMMENT

Important Tips in Public Speaking Tips on how to Get Rid of Canker Sores Efficiently Top 10 Most Beautiful Rivers in China Headaches In Back Of Head - 3 Tips For Quick Pain Relief Top 10 Most Beautiful Mountains in China Tips for Publicizing Your Fundraiser Top 10 Chinese Cultural Symbols New Year's Diet Resolution Tips Deborah Ferrari Nude Make Up Tips Need Practical Weight Loss Tips? Natural Weight Loss Program|lose Weight Naturally Tips Absolute Useful Tips of Removing AntivirusGT Conpletely Dating After Divorce - 3 Tips For Successful Dating