All About IVFSometimes mealtimes can be the most dreaded part of the day for parents, the amount of creativity and effort put in the preparation of the meal might as well get them a Michelin star. But after all the effort, children just shake their head and go back to munch on their favorite snacks or just rage cry to sleep, either way, it ends up in concern and frustration. These eating patterns later develop into poor eating habits. As found in a study by The Obesity Society, 10% of American babies in the early years of age 2 to 5 are obese, and it is linked with their poor eating habits which began around the age of 12 to 24 months.
Here we suggest some ways that might help you make your child’s mealtime nutritious and fun and develop hygienic eating habits:
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1. Presentation of the Food:
- The very first judgment we make is based on appearance, so if a sad-looking vegetable greets you at your dinner table, you probably would not want to eat it. Presentation of the food matters a lot, making it look good is half the battle won. Also, children love colors, and thankfully nutritious foods come in various vibrant colors.
- Eat the Rainbow: Have you heard of the Rainbow Diet? It is created by Dr. Deanna Minich, a nutritionist, the famous diet promotes eating colorful VIBGYOR fruits and vegetables. So why not make it an activity, instead of feeding them the seven colorful food in one day, make it a weekly activity. Every week at least 2 rainbow days and it is also a great way to involve lots of beautiful and nutritious fruits and vegetables in their diet and while you get to out new recipes.
2. Maintain a Positive Climate at Mealtimes:
- Mealtime is also family time; parents should avoid disciplining the child at the dining table. According to a study, fussy eating is linked with a negative emotional climate, thus stressing the child during mealtime.
- Being patient is the key, never rush your child through the meal or force-feed them, they might get anxious or angry and if this became a daily occurrence, they would associate mealtime with negative emotions from their early years. Also, avoid feeding them when they are tired, a tired child will be fussy while eating, allow them a power nap before they eat. Forceful feeding practices sometimes re-enforces fussy eating.
- Feeding them when not hungry or asking them to finish the meal on the plate even when they are full, creates an unpleasant environment for them.
- Punishing or rewarding them for eating leads to both poor eating and behavioral habits. These punishment or reward treatments create fussy eaters and even lead to obesity. Instead, avoid in-between mealtime snacks and serve them in small portions, if they are hungry, they will ask for more.
3. Include them in meal preparations:
- You might have seen some YouTube or Instagram pages dedicated to cute children in their little aprons cooking some meals with their parents. It is a very good strategy, according to a study “Between before cooking and directly after cooking the meal, children in the child cooks condition reported significantly increased feelings of valence (feeling positive) and dominance (feeling in control). This study confirms that involving children in meal preparation can increase vegetable intake.”
- It might not always be possible but whenever you can include children in preparing food. It could be as simple as asking what they would like to eat letting them help you do a pre-meal preparation or the actual cooking. This also increases the parent-child bonding and goes a way towards making the child learn teamwork at the same time-independent.
Also, Read: Heavily marketed kids’ cereals are least healthy
4. Make Food and Experience but Do Not Overdo It:
There are so many varieties of natural and exotic variety foods available at the local grocery store thanks to capitalism, that you can let your child try a variety of new food with very little cost and preparation.
- Serve food of different tastes and textures to them, it will also help you diversify the palate choices. If they do not like it do not force them to eat, just remove the plate and try again after a few days.
- Children are sensitive to spices, so while serving an international cuisine be mindful of the seasoning. Yet try to use different types of spices to introduce more flavorful meals.
- Also, while serving something new pair it up with something familiar that they like. Or create fusion foods of something healthy and delicious. Create a consistent routine and add something new once or twice a week, if you offer too much at once, you will end up exhausting your choices and your child will be too overwhelmed to eat.
5. Children Learn from their Parents:
If you yourself have hygienic eating habits and do not skip meals, chances are your child will have these habits too. Maintaining a proper eating schedule and avoiding too many in-between snacks would go a long way.
Understanding the likes and dislikes of the child is not important and lecturing them at the dining table about the importance of food would also irritate them further. Also giving in to their demands for eating junk food after a tantrum would only make them think that they can get away with it, so addressing their misbehavior is also important, just not while they are eating.
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