We’ve all had to face the time when kids decide to be all fussy. You might be annoyed and anxious but it is important to know that picky eating is absolutely normal in young kids.
Tips to deal with picky eaters
- The golden role to always remember is to never overreact at any cost. You might experience anxiety at the sight of your fussy little one who refuses to eat something healthy. However, keep calm and avoid strict diet regimes as they will have no effect on the kid.
- The best way is to set a great example before your kid. Follow a healthy and balanced diet yourself and enjoy eating what you’d like your kid to eat. When they see you enjoying that food you offered them, they are more likely to eat it themselves.
- Experts believe that often the food dynamics is all about exerting power and control. Kids are already learning about controlling their bodies and they soon learn they can control what they eat too. Parents are under tremendous pressure to feed their little ones nutritional food and they are often nervous. Kids will soon realize how caring their parents are about the food and this is when a struggle for power and control will begin.
- Never give your child negative messages. It’s certainly not a good idea to promise your kid a serving of the dessert if they finish those green peas first. This will only teach the kid how valuable the dessert (and not green peas) is.
- It is important to give kids a variety of different foods to eat.
- It’s a great idea to get kids involved at meal preparation time too. Take them along when you get grocery or when preparing the table. This inculcates in kids a sense of control and will lead to a better eating experience.
