Appetite problems? Tips to get your kids to eat well
Mealtimes with young, finicky eaters can be difficult. Pediatricians and children's diet experts say there are easy and effective ways to get your kids to eat well other than playing the food enforcer at every meal.
"(Health Today) - Mealtimes with young, finicky eaters can be difficult. Pediatricians and children's diet experts say there are easy and effective ways to get your kids to eat well other than playing the food enforcer at every meal.
Parental attitudes about food and the child's food choices, plus a non-confrontive atmosphere, can guide kids toward good eating habits. Parents need to avoid the bickering and control games that can make meals tense and unappetizing for everyone.
So what are the control games? A child's obstinate refusal to eat what is prepared. Threatening the child who refuses to eat ("You can't have dessert unless you eat your peas" or "We won't take you to the toy store unless you eat"). Bribing the child to eat. The end result of this behavior is that the parent finally gives in and makes a separate meal for the child or lets him have what he wants.
The first thing that a parent needs to understand is that there is never a reason to force, bribe or cajole a child to eat. Children have an appetite. They get hungry. Disagreement, obstinacy and refusal to eat come when the food supplied does not match the choice of the child, not because the child is not hungry.
Unfortunately, the child's food choice is frequently determined by past experience. If the child has been treated to lots of sweets or high-fat fast food, it is not surprising that he will not be interested in a tossed salad, slice of roast beef, baked potato and peas.
So how does a parent handle the problem? Here are some suggestions that will help.
• When the child is still an infant or toddler, avoid introducing high-sugar foods and juices. Studies have shown that children greatly respond to sugar. It is easier to get them to do something they don't want by bribing them with sugar than by threatening punishment. That is how much power sugar has over children.
• As the child ages, avoid the introduction of fast foods. Remember that fast foods have been intentionally designed to appeal to taste, to feel good in the mouth and to bring people back for more. In many respects, fast foods are addicting.
• Allow the child to make suggestions for meals, but set limits. Give them choices, but limit the choices to two, otherwise there will never be a decision. "Do you want peas or carrots for the vegetable tonight?"
• Be realistic about what you serve. Young children do not like strong flavors or excessive or hot spices. Most of them prefer relatively bland food (hence the success of peanut butter and jelly, and macaroni and cheese). There are certain vegetables that, to the child, may taste unpleasant or bitter (such as broccoli or cabbage) and should be avoided unless the child likes them.
• Make sure that the meals you serve are nutritious and provide proper proportions of fruits, vegetables, protein, carbohydrates and fat.
• Sit down as a family. Again, studies show that in households where the members eat as a family, the meals are usually more nutritious and contain less fat.
• If the child refuses to eat, stay calm. When the meal is finished, cover the plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Later, when the child complains of hunger, rewarm the plate in the microwave. If the child still refuses to eat, he should wait until the next meal. Eventually the child will eat, and because he is eating the nutritious meals you provide, you are assured that he is eating properly.
• Once it is firmly established that the meals are what's available to eat, the parent should have much less difficulty.
One last note: Be fair. If you make a special meal for your spouse that you're sure the child is not going to like, make something else nutritious to offer the child.