Baby Not Eating: Tips for Pleasing a Fussy Eater
The period between 2 to 5 years of age is characterized by an increase in activity levels. This coupled with the small tummy of your child means that a range of vital nutrients need to be fed to your child in small feed volumes. This becomes especially challenging with fussy eaters, due to their unpredictable eating habits and limited food preferences. You can try adopting these simple strategies to positively enforce healthy eating behaviours and change your picky eater.
If you want to know how to make kids eat, then you must encourage them to do the following things:
a) Allow your child to help you during cooking. By including them in cooking activities like adding ingredients, stirring, washing or baking, they learn more about the food and are excited to taste it.
b) Try creative ways of incorporating healthy ingredients into the food recipes for fussy eaters e.g. adding shredded veggies to pasta, adding sliced fruits to your child’s favourite cereal or making smoothies out of fruits.
c) If your baby is a fussy eater, make eating a fun experience for them by cutting foods into fun shapes using a cookie cutter. You can try asking your child to build his/her own pizza by adding some healthy toppings, or serving veggies or fruits cut into bite-sized pieces with a variety of dipping sauces.
d) Make family mealtimes a happy occasion, as it encourages a positive attitude towards eating.
e) Remember your picky eater has a small tummy, but big nutrient needs. So, do not give up! Keep offering baby solid food to them. It may take many attempts to encourage acceptance of a new food; so, keep trying!
Be a positive role model as your child looks up to you. So, if you eat healthy food, your child may follow suit.
a) Stock up on healthy, nutrient-dense foods instead of foods that are rich in fat and sugar only.
b) Don’t try to force-feed your child, as it may cause undue stress during mealtime. Be patient.
c) Introduce your child to one new food at a time, in small portions, along with the foods he/she likes. Offer new foods at the beginning of the mealtime, when he/she is most hungry.
d) Try different foods with different colors, textures, and tastes. Also, let your child decide what to eat. In fact, let him/her choose the fruits and veggies at the store.
