Most children are voracious eaters and mothers love preparing delicious, nutritious meals and snacks for them. Yet, there are so many picky and fussy eaters who never seem to like anything. Why does this happen?
As children grow older, they begin to understand their own tastes and preferences in food. There is a slowing down in the growth rate. Because of this, they may not need as much calories as they needed in the past. That is when they feel “full” quickly and are not inclined to eat as well as before.
However, almost all children pass through this stage normally and seem to have a better appetite as they grow older. But if a child continues to be fussy and starts losing weight, it is cause for concern and medical help must be sought.
Poor appetite is also connected to a higher level of anxiety in children. Children with weaker constitutions, have an increased anxiety level that in turn reduces appetite. Here too, medical advice can help resolve the issue.
It is important that children eat nutritious, healthy and balanced meals in order to help them grow into strong and healthy adults and to fortify their immune sytem. Whatever you serve them should be a good balance of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats and fiber.
Likes and dislikes for particular food types starts at a young age. The sooner you inculcate healthy eating habits in a child, the healthier he will be. Establish healthy meal schedules for the whole family so that it is easy for the child to emulate you and the others at home.
There are other parameters that play quite a major role in shaping a child’s food preferences. They are
· Peer preferences - liking what his friends like to eat
· TV commercials – Enticement to eat all kinds of processed foods that may or may not be healthy and nutritious
· Food selections available in eateries
Making children eat sensible and healthy diets may seem a gargantuan task, especially if they are easily influenced by the parameters mentioned above. However, there are some effective strategies that can help them eat healthy nutritious diets, much to your satisfaction.
· Avoid snacks just before mealtime so that a child is really hungry when he sits down to eat
· Think of interesting, funny and pleasant topics to discuss at meal times rather than lecture about how lucky he is to be eating such a healthy meal!
· Add nutritious vegetables and fruits to his preferred snacks to make them heallthier. Almonds and raisins in cookies and fruits in his muffins are smart ways to improvise
· Do not entice a child for anything, using food as a bribe. In the same manner do not deprive him of food as a punishment. Both acts tend to make him associate food with emotional ups and downs, leading to food related problems when he grows older
· Take care to place a small serving for him. If he wants more, he will ask. Serving a lot in the beginning may create an aversion for food
· Do not force children to eat what they do not seem to like. Do not offer a substitute for the same. They will soon learn to like the food!
· Trips to farms and orchards, encouraging your child to prepare a simple snack or allowing him to help you when you prepare meals are ways to get him interested in good food.
Children love variety, color and innovation. Make your meals colorful, innovative and varied so that he looks forward to them. Making smiley faces with tomato sauce on foods; creatively slicing a watermelon to look like a basket and filling it up with slices of his favorite fruits are some ways to innovate.
Blurb: Most children love food. There are some who do not. They have low appetites or are very choosy eaters. If these habits are telling on their weight it is a cause for concern and the child may need medical intervention.. However, the picky eating habits are usually a phase that will disappear with time. It is important to help your child develop good eating habits so that he may grow to be a strong and healthy.