A lot of parents are struggling with giving their little ones different kinds of food. Children at their early age need to get a lot of nutrients, that’s why their diet should be quite diverse. But picky eaters usually make this process more complicated for parents. Fussy eating is widely common for toddlers as after the rapid growth of infancy their appetite tends to slow down. You’ve probably heard that kids usually hate eating broccoli even though they are full of vitamins. And it comes to many other foods. Try not to put too much pressure on your little one and learn some strategies on how to help kids to get over it.
1. Make the eating more entertaining
Parents get too strict when it comes to consuming food. They want their little ones to be disciplined, tidy and obedient. But try just to let your kid play with their food and you’ll be surprised with the results. When the child is allowed to move the food around the plate, take it apart with their fingers, sniff it and taste it, it turns out to be more interesting to eat that afterwards. This way children get more familiar with the smell, consistency and temperature of foods. So relax and make mealtimes a positive experience for your kid.
2. Kids should understand what they eat
Parents have to introduce all kinds of food to their little ones but in the right way. It’s very important to increase the interest of the child to a particular product. If we talk about veggies, you can show their pictures in the book, tell how healthy they are and how they are grown, and play games on food-related topics. Make your child interested in trying this food prepared with Holle Goat Formula and finding out how it tastes. Moreover, you can grow something by yourself and make your child responsible for its watering. And it is also a great idea to involve children in the process of preparing food and serving it.
3. Start with small portions
Don’t go crazy with healthy food that your kid consumes. It wouldn’t be right to force your loved one to eat something he or she really hates, especially in big portions. But you can always add a piece of cheese or a few peas on your child’s plate with all the favorite foods and your little one will try it once. Or, you can offer a challenge to eat a small piece of something before starting the main dish. You can encourage one saying something like «It wouldn’t be difficult for you to eat that – you could be done in a second, right?» Predictably, your little one will accept the challenge.
4. Diversify the menu
Kids go nuts if they have the same meals every day. That’s when the picky eating starts. There are lots of healthy foods that you can introduce to your little one. So try to make one’s diet as diverse as possible. It’s crucial for kids to learn early that the diet shouldn’t be monotonous. It would have plenty of benefits in the long run if you offer your child to eat food of different groups. Moreover, let one make the decision on what he or she wants to eat.
5. Take advantage of baby food pouches
Looking around supermarkets you’ll find a lot of options of baby ready-made food and many parents appreciate them so much. The main advantages of baby food pouches are their nutritional value and the convenience of use. Parents don’t need to think over a healthy and enriching meal, they can use high quality pouches and be sure their little one gets full. Try to find the healthiest baby food pouches with beneficial composition and give it to your baby. This food includes different kinds of food that are blended, that’s why your little one will not be able to identify something he or she hates. Perfect for picky eaters.
6. Stick to the idea
If your little one is a picky eater, it usually takes time for them to get used to a new taste. There might be 10 to 15 attempts before kids like it. So, the main idea is not to give up and keep on introducing healthy foods.