by Margie Manion
Feeding your child, especially toddlers, can be such a daily hardship for so many parents! You wonder if they are getting enough food, the right foods, and whether or not they are on a healthy and normal eating schedule.
I have provided some simple ways of ensuring a positive eating experience for even the pickiest eaters.
Here are simple ways to ensure a positive eating experience for picky eaters
- Make sure they are really hungry
Don’t worry about the fact that your baby isn’t interested in eating- they will let you know when they are hungry! Kids are on their own schedule and the goal is to ultimately get them on our schedule. They may not be hungry at your 6:00 dinnertime. They may be starving at 4:30- it is a process! If your child isn’t hungry at dinnertime and you think it is because they are snacking all day, make sure they are snacking on healthy foods and you will feel better about them not eating a full meal.
- Positive environment.
Give your child the gift of time. Nobody likes to be rushed when they are eating. Calm parents and surroundings will set you up for a delightful experience. Children feed off of your emotions, if they since forcefulness or desperateness, you may be pushing them away. Most pediatricians will tell you to evaluate what your child has eaten over a three day period- not one day.
- Special feeding spoon.
No parent can escape the inevitable struggle of trying to get a child to open wide during mealtime, and we’ve all tried the age-old trick of making the airplane noise. You might try a baby food dispensing spoon which when you squeeze it dishes out a spoonful of food and doesn’t require having to return to the bowl to get more food .
- Be Creative.
Choose foods that are brightly colored, or arrange them in funny shapes or faces on your child’s plate. Expose your children to a variety of foods. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean your child won’t.
- Involve Your Child
Mealtime is a family event. Even if your child refuses to eat, they should still have to sit at the table with the rest of the family. You can also involve older children to help with the preparation. Children can tear lettuce, wash veggies, and even set the table. Kids are more likely to eat the food if they were involved in the process. Make it an ‘event’ in your family by planning it, looking forward to it, and talking about it!
