Picky Eaters

Picky eaters are children who are very particular about how food was prepared. They often make a fuss while taking their lunch or dinner. The eating habits of these children are a source of constant anxiety and frustration for parents.

Children often are reluctant to taste new foods and recipes. They are also not very aware of the health benefits from a variety of foods. In addition to this, junk foods carrying sweet, salty, sour, or tangy tastes attract the children.

But some children pick and choose their foods to the extent that the dinner table becomes a battle ground where parents have a harrowing time trying to force children into eating everything that is cooked.

Picky behaviour limits intake of these children to a few tested and tried varieties of food items only. They often tend to avoid healthy staple foods like chapattis, rice, dal, vegetables and fruits and miss on essential nutrients required for growth and development.

This is a behavioural problem and needs to be tackled at the earliest.
 

• Picky eaters are very particular about how food was prepared.
• They often make a fuss while taking their lunch or dinner.
• The eating habits of these children are a source of anxiety and frustration for parents.
• Children are reluctant to taste new foods and recipes.
• Children are more attracted to junk food rather than healthy home-cooked food.
• Picky behaviour limits intake of these children to a few tested and tried varieties of food items only.

Children are not aware of the health benefits from a variety of foods due to inexperience. They are still in the process of learning to acquire new tastes and discover new reasons to eat. Therefore, they are reluctant to taste new foods and recipes.

In addition to this, junk foods carrying sweet, salty, sour, or tangy tastes attract the children. Home-cooked food, which is actually healthy for the children, does not contain harmful spices and artificial additives unlike junk food. Therefore, food prepared at home looks more bland and tasteless to children.

Children learn what they live. So if parents do not set the right example, by eating a healthy diet themselves, children too will be tempted away from a healthy diet. Getting children to eat healthy food needs to begin when children are very young, while their tastes for different foods are still developing. Toddlers and older children can learn to love healthy foods, even if they are now very picky about what they eat.

It is, therefore, important to avoid yelling or forcing the children to sit at the table for hours until the food is gone. At the same time you should try not to offer rewards for every bite of food ingested.

Parents can gradually introduce new foods into the children's diet. You can set a good example by buying only nutritious foods and eating the very things you want your children to eat.

Encouraging children to experiment with new tastes and textures can begin in the kitchen. Involve your children in planning meals, shopping for foods and preparing them. A food that normally has a lukewarm reception may become a delicacy if the child helped make it.

Repeated exposure to foods greatly increases the likelihood of even picky eaters eating them. You can prepare the food in different ways, but offer it on a consistent basis, especially, when children will be the hungriest. Offering food as part of a nutrition activity or snack may make it more interesting.

Since children eat small quantities of food, prepare tempting dishes with small portions for them. At breakfast time, you can include a piece of banana, a few grapes, small toast strips with peanut butter and a handful of daliya (cracked wheat).

Even if the children pick, you know the food is of high quality. Use this technique both at lunch and dinner. Keep a refrigerator stocked with great snacks. Children enjoy low fat yogurt, fresh sliced vegetables, sliced fruits, and nutritious cereals.

Purchase a few health food cook books and make cookies with oatmeal, bran, raisins, honey and brown sugar. Choose recipes with ingredients that your children particularly enjoy.

In case, you have tried all the above and still have questions regarding your picky eater child, you can ask for a practical solution from Jiva. Jiva makes use of the know-how of its expert educationists and the wisdom from Ayurveda to provide you consultation for this kind of problem. Please feel free to contact Jiva at 0129-4088152 or write to us at asksteve@jiva.com. We will try our best to give a solution to your child’s problem with our expertise.



 

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