It is always challenging to have a picky eater in the family. Here are some ideas to sort it
Having a fussy eater can be incredibly frustrating especially when there is such an importance on having a good diet and eating the right foods but your child just won’t play ball. The good news is that you are not alone as a huge amount of children are picky about what they eat from time to time and in most cases it is just a phase. There are a few things you can do to help your selective eater and with these tips it might help develop your little ones taste buds to a much better level giving you some much needed relief!
- Start as you mean to go on- Starting your child on vegetables and fruit is the best way to encourage healthy eating and a varied diet. Try avoid youngsters eating processed foods and snacks that are too salty or sugary as while your tot will love them, they may become fixated on them and refuse other foods to get the tastier fatty foods. Remember that a kiddie doesn’t know what chocolate or crisps taste like until they have them so don’t give them out too early while they are developing their taste buds.
- Figure out why they don’t like a certain type of food- If your child is constantly spitting out a vegetable mix, try a different mix and figure out which one they actually don’t like. It may be the broccoli or cauliflower so rather than stopping making them a nice mix of veg, try two of their favourite ones. It may get a little repetitive so mix and match to what your nipper likes and go from there, and remember some kids (like adults) may never like a certain food and that is ok!
- Accept that no child likes everything- There are kiddies that are great eaters but even they would not eat everything and it is hard for kids to enjoy all foods at least until they are a lot older. However as long as they like a good range and mix of foods it is a good start for a healthy eating attitude.
- Don’t force them to eat and don’t get agitated by their refusals to eat- Forcing a tiny one to eat is not the right way to teach them to eat their greens, if anything you may turn them off for life and they could struggle to swallow the food and throw it back up!
- Build on what your child does like- If your child likes milk, cheese and dairy try build from there and mix some cheese with cauliflower for example and see if the marriage will work for your tot. If your kiddie loves meat mix it with their potatoes and veg, but if they don’t like it all mixed up encourage them to eat their veggies followed by their favourite meat.
- Keep working on it- It may not always run smoothly as children will refuse and are quite stubborn but keep at it! Try different foods as they get older and allow them to say no to a certain food if they really hate it. You will be amazed to know that eventually your kiddie will eat better but it may take time and perseverance just like parenthood really!
Good luck!
Written by Emma, Irish mummy blogger and staff writer at www.familyfriendlyhq.ie
