Steps to Deal With a Fussy Eater
Toddlers who are fussy eaters become a matter of concern for their parents. Due to their picky eating habits, some toddlers miss out on the vitamins and essential nutrients. Lack of a nutritious, balanced diet may cause a delay in their development. At an early age, consumption of foods full of nutritional value is crucial for every growing child. Inadequate nutrition intake of a child may lead to vitamins deficiencies which makes them more likely to fall sick frequently.
How to Make a Fussy Eater Eat
Dos
- Offer small portions /quantity of food.
- Offer a wide variety of foods, serve different options.
- Offer healthy snacks in between meals.
- Offer finger foods like steamed veggies.
- Offer small but frequent meals.
- Encourage self-feeding.
Dont’s
- Don’t give a full plate of food.
- Don’t keep offering the same kind of food every day. Keep changing colours and textures as it matters a lot.
- Rather than providing unhealthy oily food with zero nutritional value offer healthy options.
- Refrain from giving food loaded with sugar.
Give your toddler desserts that are freshly prepared at home with no added sugar. Instead, add dates and raisins as a substitute for sugar.
Keep your toddler well-hydrated throughout the day with water, milk, and lemon water.
Say No to Forced Feeding
- Never force-feed your toddler – Force-feeding may develop a fear of mealtime in toddlers. When they refuse to eat stop, offer them food after some time, or give them a healthy snack
- Know the symptoms when your toddler is full
- When they move their face away when food is served.
- When they refuse to open their mouth.
- When they keep on throwing the food.
Make Mealtime a Habit
- Serve your toddler a separate plate make and them sit with you for every meal.
- Having food with your toddler will help in developing their eating habits and improve their hand and mouth coordination. Keep mealtime free of television and mobiles.
In the beginning, they won’t be able to eat much during self-feeding sessions but keep practising. It will help in the long run to form a habit of mealtime.
Disclaimer: The views, opinions and positions (including content in any form) expressed within this post are those of the author alone. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The responsibility for intellectual property rights of this content rests with the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with him/her.
