How to encourage an inediate to eat? Are there any magic ways to arouse a child’s culinary curiosity and its natural need to explore new tastes? Here are some proven and effective methods recommended not only by doctors, but also by mothers who know the problem from their own experience.
An inediate at home is quite a challenge. Often it takes a lot of effort to encourage a child to eat anything, not to mention trying new tastes or dishes. Threats or requests don’t help, and nerves, rushing and impatience are the biggest enemies of culinary experiments. The child stubbornly refuses, while you do your best to diversify the dishes. Frustration is growing with each successive attempt and your hope of convincing the child to eat something is shrinking and shrinking until you finally give up on further attempts. Unfortunately, this is a fairly common and frequent mistake.
This is a golden rule that you should stick to. It is extremely important for your child to introduce regularity and repetition into his daily routine. He or she should know that meals are eaten at specific times, thanks to which it will be easier for him or her to adapt to a certain rhythm of the day, which will quickly turn into a habit. The little eater will remember that there is a time for playing and a time for eating. But don’t drag out meals indefinitely. Don’t let your child sit at the table for two hours, fiddling with the plate without enthusiasm. Try to prevent the time spent eating from being associated with boredom and unpleasant rushing. If the glutton decides that he/she is full and will not take another bite, ok! Nervousness, blackmail or other methods of persuasion will bring the opposite effect, so give the child a choice. Let him decide for himself. Calm down, calm down, calm down…that’s the only thing that can save us.
Snacks, especially during playtime are not advisable. Period Ends. The chance of eating dinner decreases in direct proportion to the size of the sweet roll or candy bar. Don’t feed your child, especially if you’re dealing with an eater who needs a few fries a day to exist. And while it’s tempting to squeeze at least a little food into your little one while they’re playing, hold back and let them feel hungry. It is more than certain that he will ask for food on his own after exhausting playtime
The same goes for sweet rewards for eating dinner. Rewarding a child with sweets has an adverse effect and develops negative habits that may be reflected in adult life. Chocolate as a praise will be associated with something natural, so if you don’t want your child to reach for something sweet every time he/she achieves some success, don’t teach this type of behaviour
Nothing stimulates appetite and creativity more than preparing meals together. Of course, each activity should be adjusted to the child’s age, abilities and manual skills. If the toddler is too small to cut vegetables, let him arrange them on a plate. Let him compose a sandwich from ingredients chosen by him or create together an interesting, original and colorful puzzle. Cooking with mom is not only great fun and a way to spend time together, talk and play, but also to show off your skills. Besides, it’s a well-known fact that a meal prepared by a child tastes better.
Try to introduce something new to the menu from time to time. But it’s important to do it gradually. Give the child time to get to know the new dish, its smell, taste, color, consistency. And don’t rush it. If the first time turns out to be a flop, try again and again. It’s fun to combine the new with something your child is already familiar with. Add a favorite sauce or seasoning. Instead of boiled potatoes, offer baked ones…and yes, you can pour that wretched ketchup over them. Next time, try serving them plain
Be a role model. A toddler who sees a loved one eating a healthy diet will follow suit. If a parent starts the day with coffee and a sweet roll, eats cake for dinner, and there is not even the smallest portion of vegetables on the dinner plate, no wonder that the child grumbles and grimaces when trying to convince him to eat healthy. Therefore, it is worth taking care of your own menu and diet, so that your child treats the famous broccoli or spinach as something natural.
