What a child eats and drinks from birth to early adulthood determines their health throughout their entire lives.
General eating habits are formed during the first few years of life, so it is very important to encourage and implement healthy eating during this period.
Therefore, when a child is fussy and a bad eater, it is completely natural for parents to be concerned about this issue.
What we need to know about the peculiarities of baby nutrition
Refusing to eat or try new foods is generally normal for a child.
Sometimes toddlers go through phases where they stop eating foods they used to enjoy.
Obviously, the best option is a daily full meal, but if that doesn't work out, the main focus should be not on how the child eats during the day and whether he or she finished the offered portion, but on whether he or she received a sufficiently varied and balanced diet during the week.
A child's diet should include at least some products from each of the 4 main food groups. These groups are:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Starchy carbohydrates, such as potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, etc.
- Milk and its products
- Protein products, such as: meat, fish, eggs, beans, etc.
If a child's diet is disrupted for a few days, it will not harm his flexible body, but if such a period is prolonged, it is already noteworthy. At this time, it is necessary to assess the child's general condition, how active he is, what is the growth rate and weight gain.
What can cause you to become a picky eater?
There can be many reasons why a child does not eat certain foods.
- First of all, it may be a matter of sensory perception. Some children will be more sensitive to the taste, smell, texture, and temperature of food than others.
- The child may have traumatic memories of various foods, such as an episode of abuse, food poisoning, or food temperatures that are too hot or too cold.
- If the child is relatively older, he may be concerned about his body shape and this may be a reason for avoiding food.
- Some people, including children, do not like changes in routine, and this can also affect their eating habits. In this case, food that is offered in a different way, at a different time, and in a different place may be rejected. Different packaging of food can have a similar effect.
- Sometimes a child simply "copy" their parent's demanding behavior regarding feeding.
Observing a child's behavior and individual characteristics and identifying these possible causes allows the parent to plan what food to offer the child, where, and when, in a way that increases the likelihood of food intake.
How to offer food to picky children – tips for parents
The process of feeding a child involves sharing responsibilities between the child and his or her parent.
Specifically, it is the parent's responsibility to control what, where, and when the child is fed. The child decides whether to eat this food and how much to eat. Therefore, the general attitude should be as follows:
- Don't force the child to eat.
- When refusing food, put the dish aside as calmly and without reproach as possible and do not offer any alternative food until the next mealtime.
- Avoid snacking on sweets or other treats for a period of time (preferably at least 90 minutes) before meals. Also, avoid drinks, as these will make your stomach feel full and suppress your appetite, making you more likely to refuse food.
- If the child is age appropriate, give them a choice and ask them in advance which of two different dishes they would prefer to have prepared for dinner.
- Try to set an example and often eat the same foods with him that you offer him.
- Offer food in small portions and praise even if he eats a small amount.
- The child may be a slow eater and this requires patience on the part of the parent.
- Don't use sweets as a reward after meals, as this may create the idea that if sweets are a reward, eating vegetables is a punishment. Instead of sweets, you can offer a walk in the park, playing together, coloring, or another activity that he really enjoys.
- If you know a child of the same age who is a good eater, invite him or her to your home for a meal, but don't focus too much on how good other children are because they eat well.
- You can also ask an adult who the child really likes to eat with you.
- Sometimes a child will eat food served by someone else without resistance. This could be, for example, a grandparent or another family member.
- Offer your child food in different forms. For example, if he doesn't eat cooked carrots, he may like them raw and grated.
- Participate in the preparation process
- Choose attractive children's dishes
- Ensure your child gets adequate physical activity and moderate exercise during the day.
- Try not to associate the eating process with stress and create a fun and positive environment during this time. Be patient and don't lose your temper.
New product offer
The British Dietetic Association's Pediatric Group says that new foods and flavors should be introduced multiple times.
It may take up to 16-17 attempts before a child accepts a new taste. Therefore, parents should not give up prematurely.
Introducing a new flavor can be done slowly and in stages, including the following steps:
- Put the new product on the table
- Put it on a plate.
- Ask and encourage him to touch it with his hand.
- Encourage him to touch her with his tongue.
- Encourage him to put it in his mouth.
- Encourage him to chew.
- Encourage him to swallow.
Sit down with him, taste the same product yourself, and describe your feelings, for example, with words like: "sweet," "easy to chew," "crunchy," and so on, to get a preliminary idea of the taste and texture.
A child's taste buds often change. What they don't want to see today may become a favorite food after a while.
Therefore, after a while, you can return to offering the same products that the child previously refused to eat.
Written by: Elga Giorgadze, MD (Doctor Endocrinologist)
Hey there this is somewhat of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code
with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I
wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this brilliant blog!
I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about this site with
my Facebook group. Chat soon!
Thanks for ones marvelous posting! I really enjoyed reading it, you could be a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and may come back someday.
I want to encourage one to continue your great posts, have a nice weekend!
I enjoy what you guys tend to be up too. This kind of clever work and reporting!
Keep up the very good works guys I’ve included you guys to my personal blogroll.
Pretty! This has been an extremely wonderful post.
Many thanks for supplying this information.
Excellent beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your web site, how could
i subscribe for a blog site? The account aided me a acceptable deal.
I had been tiny bit acquainted of this your broadcast provided bright clear concept
Hello Dear, are you actually visiting this website on a regular basis, if
so then you will absolutely take pleasant experience.
These are genuinely enormous ideas in regarding blogging.
You have touched some nice things here. Any way keep up
wrinting.
This information is priceless. Where can I find out more?
Hi would you mind letting me know which web host
you’re utilizing? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different web browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most.
Can you recommend a good hosting provider
at a fair price? Many thanks, I appreciate it!
Very good post! We will be linking to this great article on our site.
Keep up the great writing.
I wanted to thank you for this good read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it.
I have you book-marked to check out new things you post…
Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is a
very well written article. I will make sure to bookmark it
and come back to read more of your useful
information. Thanks for the post. I’ll certainly return.
I am regular reader, how are you everybody? This paragraph posted at this web page is truly nice.
Hello my loved one! I wish to say that this post is amazing, great written and come
with approximately all important infos. I would like to see more posts like this .
Hi, its fastidious paragraph about media print, we all understand media is a enormous source of information.
Hello, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your website in Ie, it looks fine but when opening in Internet
Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give
you a quick heads up! Other then that, great blog!
Because the admin of this website is working, no hesitation very quickly it will be well-known, due to its
feature contents.
Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your website is fantastic, let alone the content!
What’s up it’s me, I am also visiting this web page regularly, this website is actually pleasant and the visitors are truly sharing good thoughts.
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my weblog so i came to “return the favor”.I am attempting to find things to improve my site!I suppose its ok to use some of
your ideas!!
I was excited to find this website. I need to
to thank you for ones time due to this wonderful read!!
I definitely loved every bit of it and I have you bookmarked to
see new information on your web site.
Wonderful blog! I found it while surfing around on Yahoo News.
Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to
get there! Cheers
Hi, just wanted to tell you, I liked this article. It was helpful.
Keep on posting!
What’s Taking place i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve discovered It absolutely useful and
it has aided me out loads. I hope to give a contribution & help different users like
its aided me. Good job.
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though
you relied on the video to make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about,
why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?
I think everything typed was actually very reasonable. But,
what about this? what if you were to write a awesome post title?
I am not suggesting your content is not solid, but suppose you added a
headline to maybe grab folk’s attention? I mean პრეტენზიული მჭამელი ბავშვები – ენდოკრინოლოგია is a little plain. You could
glance at Yahoo’s front page and watch how they create news headlines to grab viewers to click.
You might add a video or a related picture or two to grab people excited about what you’ve written. Just my opinion, it might make your blog a little bit more
interesting.
You should take part in a contest for one of the greatest blogs on the net.
I am going to recommend this website!
Hi there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok.
I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new
updates.
It’s really very complicated in this full of activity life to listen news on TV, so I only use web
for that reason, and take the newest news.
You really make it seem really easy together with your presentation but I to
find this topic to be actually something which I feel I might never understand.
It seems too complicated and very wide for me.
I am having a look forward for your subsequent submit, I’ll attempt to get the hold of it!
Thanks for finally writing about > პრეტენზიული მჭამელი
ბავშვები – ენდოკრინოლოგია < Liked it!
Hello, i think that i saw you visited my weblog thus
i came to “return the favor”.I am trying to find
things to improve my website!I suppose its ok to use some of your
ideas!!
Hello my friend! I want to say that this post is amazing, nice
written and come with almost all important infos. I’d like to see extra posts like this .
Inspiring quest there. What occurred after? Good luck!
Your mode of explaining all in this article is actually nice, every one can easily understand it, Thanks a lot.
Wow that was strange. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I
clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not
writing all that over again. Anyways, just wanted to say superb blog!
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a
lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
I think that you can do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but other than that, this is magnificent blog.
A fantastic read. I will definitely be back.
You are so awesome! I don’t believe I’ve read anything like this before.
So wonderful to discover another person with some original thoughts on this
topic. Seriously.. thanks for starting this up. This website is something that is needed on the web, someone with some originality!
I’ve been exploring for a little bit for any high quality articles or blog posts on this sort of area .
Exploring in Yahoo I finally stumbled upon this web site. Reading this
info So i’m satisfied to express that I’ve an incredibly excellent uncanny feeling I found out
exactly what I needed. I such a lot undoubtedly will make certain to do not omit this site and provides
it a glance on a continuing basis.
Hi there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if
that would be okay. I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog
and look forward to new updates.
If you want to grow your familiarity just keep visiting this site and
be updated with the most up-to-date gossip posted here.
Hello friends, how is all, and what you want to say on the topic of this article,
in my view its genuinely remarkable in favor of me.
I am truly grateful to the holder of this web site who has shared this impressive paragraph at at this
place.
Hi Dear, are you in fact visiting this web page daily, if so
then you will absolutely get fastidious experience.
Asking questions are really nice thing if you are not understanding anything
completely, but this post offers nice understanding yet.
You are so awesome! I don’t suppose I have read through something like this before.
So nice to discover another person with genuine thoughts on this topic.
Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This site is something
that’s needed on the web, someone with some originality!
Awesome issues here. I am very glad to see your article.
Thanks so much and I am taking a look forward to touch you.
Will you please drop me a e-mail?
Hey there, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your blog in Chrome, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping.
I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, superb blog!
Heya i am for the primary time here. I found this board
and I to find It truly helpful & it helped me out a lot.
I’m hoping to give one thing back and aid others such as you helped me.
Heya i am for the primary time here. I found this board
and I to find It truly helpful & it helped me out a lot.
I’m hoping to give one thing back and aid others such as you helped me.
Hi there, this weekend is pleasant for me, as this moment i
am reading this impressive informative paragraph here at my residence.
Hello, I enjoy reading all of your article. I like to write a little comment to support you.
What i do not realize is in fact how you’re no longer really a
lot more neatly-preferred than you might be right now.
You are so intelligent. You know therefore significantly in terms of this matter,
made me in my view believe it from a lot of various angles.
Its like men and women are not fascinated until it is something to accomplish with Lady gaga!
Your individual stuffs outstanding. All the time maintain it up!
you are really a excellent webmaster. The web site loading pace is incredible.
It seems that you’re doing any distinctive trick. Moreover, The
contents are masterwork. you have done a great activity in this
subject!
Hello, I check your blog regularly. Your humoristic style is
witty, keep doing what you’re doing!
Hello friends, fastidious post and pleasant urging commented here,
I am actually enjoying by these.
Hi! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my
new iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading through your
blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the outstanding work!
Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with Search Engine
Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good gains.
If you know of any please share. Thanks!
Thank you for the good writeup. It in truth was once a leisure account it.
Look complex to far delivered agreeable from you! However, how can we communicate?
My brother suggested I might like this blog. He was totally right.
This post truly made my day. You cann’t imagine simply how much time I had spent for this info!
Thanks!
I am actually pleased to read this webpage posts which
includes tons of valuable information, thanks for providing these kinds of statistics.
Hi there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout
out and tell you I genuinely enjoy reading through your posts.
Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same subjects?
Thanks a lot!
I just couldn’t go away your web site before suggesting that I
really loved the standard info an individual provide for
your visitors? Is going to be again steadily to inspect new posts
Amazing! Its in fact awesome paragraph, I have got much
clear idea on the topic of from this post.
Why viewers still use to read news papers when in this
technological world the whole thing is accessible on web?
I think what you typed made a lot of sense. But, what about this?
what if you added a little information? I am not saying your information isn’t
good, but what if you added a post title to
maybe grab folk’s attention? I mean პრეტენზიული მჭამელი
ბავშვები – ენდოკრინოლოგია is a little boring.
You might glance at Yahoo’s front page and watch how they create news
titles to get viewers to click. You might add a video or a related pic
or two to grab readers interested about what you’ve got to say.
In my opinion, it might bring your blog a little bit more interesting.