subject: From Picky Eaters to Healthy Yummy Tummy Kids [print this page] From Picky Eaters to Healthy Yummy Tummy Kids
Is your dinner table constantly having meal wars and power struggle when your little picky eater is around? Relax. Almost every child grow up that way - including yourself if you check with grandma.
Why Are There Picky Eaters?
1. As a parent, we care too much and have expectation as to the quantity and quality of food our child takes. If our child food intake falls short, we get upset.
2. Babies take cereal, adult take chicken chop. How about kids? They do not have wide variety of 'transitional food' except for fries that we constantly disallow and hot dog and burger that you can not possibly serve every single meal.
3. More often than not, what is served on the table are adult food - beef are probably to tough for the 20 delicate teeth, they just had chicken yesterday and asparagus taste so bitter and green. So, in terms of texture, taste and preference, they did not suit children well enough.
Given the situation, here are the solutions to what we label our kids as picky eaters:
1. Serve different food for a change.
If you have 10-15minutes, Google for some recipes site and expose all variety of food images to your child. He may probably spot something he likes and there you go - a new food idea!
2. Taking part.
I know you would not want any disturbance when you are busy cooking in the kitchen, but why not get your child involve in shopping for your ingredients. Or show the sweet corn you bought and let him spread butter on it. Chances are, he will eat it!
3. Educate your child about food pyramid.
If your child is mature enough to understand, show him or her the food pyramid chart. Explain about the different groups of food and their functions. For e.g. You need lots of vegetables and fruits because they contain fiber that can prevent constipation.
4. Be patient when it comes to new food.
It is unusual that a child will try new food when he or she sees it for the first time. A child may need to be exposed with a new food for at least 10 times before he or she develops trust and wants to try it. So, be patient.
5. Do not provide alternatives
If your child does not take what is served, you need not get leave the table and get busy in the kitchen and start cooking all over again. Although offering the ketchup sauce can increase some appetite!
6. Serve when hungry
Never serve snack 2 hours before mealtime which can affect your child appetite. Your child should be moderately hungry at mealtimes.
7. Do not waste time decorating
You may have heard about advise that decorating and making fancy shapes out of food may help. Unfortunately, I do not believe in that. It may encourage a child to merely try but ultimately it is the taste and liking that encourage a child to clean the plate. To make the matter worse, a child may develop expectation that each meal should be decorated.
At the end of the day, take it as a passing phase. Your child will eat and no matter what, your child is unlikely to be malnourished. So, relax and enjoy your meal but do not worry too much about picky eaters!
