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Fussy Eaters

Parents these days worry a lot about Kids Food. Gone are the days when having food was just another daily activity.

1. Eat as a Family – Kids learn by watching us than hearing from us. Hence it’s a good ritual to eat as a family. They will learn to appreciate this process and will even prove to be the best time to mingle. Taking kids aside to feed before we have is a regular habit in the Indian community these days as it is considered more easy and comfortable.

2. Stick to a Routine – Kids love routine and it helps them be disciplined in their food habits. Their hunger also mostly coordinates with the set routine and will be easy for us to plan and offer healthy food.

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3. Get Rid of Distractions – Mobile or TV being used while having food has become very common these days. Almost 70% of the kids especially those of age 0-3 years are watching something while they have food. We believe that kids eat only while mobile is on or believe that they eat more while watching something.

4. Introduce Self Eating early – Another common issue is force-feeding and this is done by parents or caregivers. Mashing food and feeding them while distracting can lead to further complications and hatred towards healthy, homemade food. Many have told me that their babies around 8 months show interest in self-feeding but they are scared to offer food as they worry about choking. Babies can have all family food well from the beginning but if you worry offer soft finger foods from 8 months and slowly bring them to family food by a year. They eat better when they understand the texture, flavor, and color of the food.

5. Offer all Varieties Early – Regular ragi porridge or any food can bring no value to the baby’s health. Offering Varieties is the key. Give all family food to your kids and ensure you include varieties and eat balanced food regularly. Which includes having protein-rich dal or beans, calorie-filled rice or wheat, vitamins, and iron-filled vegetables and fruits, etc. If not on one plate in the whole day we need to ensure all these are well offered and well consumed.

6. Never keep a Backup or Sneak-in – Mashing food or sneaking in vegetables or food that they hate is a very bad idea. I and my brother love all vegetables and there is no vegetable or fruit that we hate. This must be the case with people of my generation and older ones too. With varieties, you are also taking care of complete nutrition and they will like to try new tastes when introduced at an early stage of life.

7.  Avoid Junk as a Family – One cannot say that your child is not having food after he has 2 packets of lays and 1 chocolate. These fill up the small stomach and where will they have space or craving for healthy homemade food. We also must not preach to have healthy food if we do not follow it. In the era where street foods and junk foods are just a click away, we need to first control our consumption of junk. Never treat kids with junk food as a reward instead make homemade sweets. Not to say stop packing store-bought bread, muffins, or any snack to their snack box. It may take a few minutes more to make healthy snacks at home.

8. Involve them in Buying & Cooking – Kids love it when they shop for what they eat. They are more active in including those newfound vegetables in their diet. This works well when you include them in the cooking process, simple work like peeling onion or peas will bring in a lot of curiosity and interest towards food.

9. Take them to farm or agricultural land – I’ve no clue how a carrot plant looks like and how many other vegetables are grown. Malls and trips are common visits and let’s pledge to take them to one land or one farm every 6 months and show them the effort taken and days involved in growing one vegetable or grains. 

10. Patience during a Phase – Your kid may be teething or just not interested in eating on some days just as we. As far as he’s having 2 meals per day and drinking enough water do not worry and create a negative environment around food and habits. Stay calm it may just be a phase. I send different varieties of food to Disha and some days she doesn’t even eat a bit. It’s hard for me to convince myself but I’m trying and all the best to you.

Video: How to deal with Fussy Eaters

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