How to cope with picky eaters
As a parent you have the responsibility of feeding your child. But what if your child refuses to eat
anything other than chicken nuggets? Or their favourite food this week ends up on the floor the
following week? This can be quite stressful for parents but try not to get too frustrated by this
typical behaviour in children. Try the following tips to prevent mealtime battles.
P T
M H
lay with food
As children we were always told not to play with our
food. But before we can expect our children to eat a new
food, they need to explore it. They are still learning and
experiencing new textures. So let them get messy. Talk
about the smell, colour and size. And then encourage
them to taste it.
ake food fun
Children are very open to trying foods cut into certain
shapes with a cookie cutter or food arranged in a certain
way to make a face, tower or colourful shapes. They might
also enjoy dunking certain food like broccoli or carrots in
a dip. Some especially like finger foods.
D
on’t force feed
As a parent you want your child to eat healthily and get
in all their nutrients but force-feeding may have the
opposite effect and create a negative relationship with
food – making the situation even worse. This negative
association with food can even spill over into adulthood.
ry and try again
If your child refuses a certain food once, it doesn’t mean
you can’t try it again at a later stage. Keep offering new
foods and those your child refused before. It can take as
many as 10 times for your child to taste a food before
his/her taste buds adjust and they enjoy eating it.
unger is the best cook
By scheduling meals and limiting snacks close to dinner
time, you can ensure that your child will be hungry when
food is introduced. Serve small portions so as not to
overwhelm your child and give him/her the opportunity
to ask for more on their own terms.
M
ake it social
Sitting down and enjoying a meal as a family is very
important. This means no media, like TV or cellphones
to distract anyone. Food is a big part of our culture and
everyone should enjoy the social aspect of it. This is the
time to introduce a healthy eating model.
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