Meal Time Problem with kids

“My son does not eat proper lunch/dinner. He wants to eat junk food.”

“My daughter is not hungry at meal times. She only eats roti with jam and curd rice.”

“My son is not eating anything. See how thin he is as compared to last year.”

Very often I used to come across such statements from parents complaining about their child’s food habits when I was teaching in pre primary section. Today, let us talk about some possible causes and how can we prevent and handle them.

Causes:

·         Many children become choosy about food during preschool years, and due to height gain, they look thinner than before.

·         Children are not offered a variety of food with various tastes up to 2 years and suddenly when in preschool they are expected to eat everything.

·         Lot of junk food like biscuits, chocolates, ice-creams, chips etc is introduced to the child at a very early age because it is convenient for the parents. By attractive food advertisements children may indulge in junk eating.

·         Parents are not aware of nutritional needs of the children and feel chubby is healthy.

·         Parents themselves have faulty food habits.

Preventing and handling of meal time problems:

·         Inculcate healthy food habits at a very early age. Introduce different tastes to the child when he starts eating during the first year.

·         Do not give junk food on regular basis.

·         Do not feed the child separately. Encourage them to sit with other family members to eat. When they see others enjoying food, they also start enjoying. Can serve them different kinds food in attractive ways.

·         Some children are fast eaters while some are slow, so do not show anxiety to finish their meals faster. Do not pressurize them. Let them eat at their own pace.

·         Let the child eat whatever is cooked for the family. From second year the child should be able to eat everything that family members
      eat.

·         Children imitate their parents. Be a good role model. Check if you are snacking on junk food or try new dishes and enjoy healthy, nutritious food.

·         Do not store junk food at home.

·         Be firm with the children. Let them know they have to eat proper meals when they are hungry. If the child creates a fuss, do not force him to eat. Just firmly tell him that whenever he feels hungry he has to eat the same food.

·         When the child does not get his favorite dish all the time, he slowly understands that he cannot always have his way.

·         Encourage the child to try out a small bite of a new food. Do not force him to eat that. Tell him, “Try this out. If you do not like it, do not eat it.” When the child gets control of the situation, he is least resistant.

·         Respect the likes and dislikes of each child. Do not force the child to eat each and everything you eat.

·         Do not compare the food intake of two children, as each individual has a different appetite and needs different amount of food. As long as the child is healthy and eating nutritious food the quantity does not matter.

·         Sometimes the child feels like he has no say, they feel they have no control over what they’re fed if parents don’t include them in choosing foods once in a while. Get them involved in shopping, prepping, menu planning, cooking, serving and cleaning up.

·         School meal times could be used effectively to inculcate healthy food habits.

               Have a nice day!