| Picky Eating | |
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Many children will experience picky eating phases during their lifetime. The most common time for picky eating is the toddler or preschool years. Parents often have concerns about their child who: · Complains about or refuses specific foods, especially vegetables and meats · Doesn’t seem to eat enough total food or calories per day. Children of all ages (and adults) commonly have a few food dislikes. Sometimes children dislike foods because of the color, but more often it’s because of the texture or how hard it is to chew. Children accept tender meats better than tough ones, and well-cooked vegetables better than raw. Most children who are picky eaters will try new foods in the school years because of peer pressure. The intense appetite during the adolescent years also increases the willingness to experiment. If you try to force your child to eat a food he doesn’t like, he may gag or even vomit. Force feedings should be avoided because it will always interfere with the normal pleasure of eating and eventually decrease the child’s appetite. If not force feeding, then what? 1. Try to prepare a main dish that everyone likes. Try to avoid any unusual main dish that your child strongly dislikes. Some children don’t like foods that are mixed together, such as casseroles. Try reintroducing such dishes when your child is older. However, do not tailor every meal to your child’s desire. 2. Allow occasional substitutes for the main dish. If your child refuses to eat the main dish and this is an unusual request, you may allow a substitute dish. An acceptable substitute would be breakfast cereal or a simple sandwich the child prepares for himself. Never become a short-order cook and prepare any extra foods for mealtime. The child should know that you expect him to learn to eat the main dish that has been prepared for the family. 3. Respect any strong food dislikes. If your child has a few strong food dislikes (especially any food that makes her gag), do not serve that food to her when it’s prepared as a part of the family meal. Never pressure your child to eat all foods. It will only lead to a power struggle, gagging, or even vomiting. 4. Don’t let your child complain about food at mealtimes. Have a rule that it’s okay to decline a serving of a particular food or to push it to the side of the plate, but complaining about it is unacceptable. 5. Ask your child to taste new foods. Many tastes are acquired. Your child may eventually learn that she likes a food she initially refuses. For some picky eaters, it may take seeing other people eat a certain food 10 to 15 times before they’re even willing to taste it, and another 10 times of tasting it before they develop a liking for it. 6. Don’t argue about dessert. An unnecessary area of friction for picky eaters is a rule that if you don’t clean your plate, you can’t have any dessert. Since desserts are not necessarily harmful, a better approach is to allow your child one serving of dessert regardless of what she eats. However, there are no seconds on desserts for children who don’t eat an adequate amount of the main course. Desserts don’t have to be sweets, they can be nutritious desserts such as fruit. 7. Don’t extend mealtime. Don’t keep your child sitting at the dinner table after the rest of the family is done. This will only cause your child to develop unpleasant associations with mealtime. 8. Keep mealtimes pleasant. Make it an important family event. Draw your children into friendly conversation. Tell them what’s happened to you today and ask about their day. Talk about fun subjects unrelated to food. Avoid making it a time for criticism or struggle over control. 9. Avoid conversation about eating at any time. Don’t discuss what your child eats in your child’s presence. Trust your child’s appetite to look after your child’s caloric needs. Also don’t give praise for appropriate eating. Don’t give bribes or rewards for meeting your expectations. Children should eat to satisfy their appetite, not to please the parent. Occasionally you might praise your child for trying a new food that he does not like the taste or texture of. 10. Consider giving your child a daily vitamin-mineral supplement. Although vitamins are probably unnecessary for most of us, they are not harmful in normal amounts and may allow you to relax more about your child’s eating patterns. 11. Call the office if you think your child is losing weight. |
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