If at home you have a child who has a tummy to eat, you are not alone. Almost 50 percent of parents say their young children are picky eaters. If they are selective at mealtime, they can make meals chaos. We already have enough to worry about not wasting food and that your child eats enough "good" food and little "bad" food (or at least that he eats enough). These daily struggles can make meals a burden and planning taking into account the preferences of the little ones can be almost impossible.
However, there is good news: some of the common behaviors of fussy children with food, like rejecting new dishes or having tantrums at lunchtime (because they just want to eat their favorite food) They are normal.
Research suggests that over time and after several exposures (without being pressured) to food, most children end up accepting new foods. Also breathe with relief because most children who are considered to be picky eaters do not usually have food deficiencies or a below-average growth rate.
We are researchers in nutrition and have carried out several studies with which we have prepared several strategies you can use to make meals happier and healthier. Along with other studies with young children, the result is five ways to reduce stress during meals and to help your "picky eater" to have a healthier diet.
1. Change the way you see things
The first step that many parents who feel exhausted can take is to change their point of view.
During the preschool years, the slowdown in growth (compared to the rapid growth observed during childhood and childhood) can have an impact on the diet. It is also the case of attitude changes, such as when the child begins to have a sense of independence.
Now they are responsible for their own preferences and actions, hence they prefer to feed themselves, developing a stricter taste about food.
If we are left with the fact that children are "picky eaters", we are suggesting that such behaviors, considered normal during development, are an act of rebellion.
If we take rejection of food as an act of rebellion, mealtime will probably be stressful. We tend to focus on our children fulfilling our orders instead of trying to develop a healthy relationship with food.
The phrases of the type "You have to eat three more tablespoons" They are normal, but they can make you finish is a cycle of discussions with your child.
In some situations, the cycle of pressures and negatives can increase and cause you to give in order for your child to eat anything, letting him eat what he wants and creating negative eating habits.
Instead of thinking of this kind of attitude as an act of rebellion, we can understand it as a way to show independence during meals, something completely appropriate for your age. Your child will discriminate food based on the new qualities of food such as taste, texture, presentation and familiarity.
Focus on promoting your child's good eating habits without pressing and enjoy the time you spend together during meals instead of focusing on your food intake.
2. Adapt, but without giving in
If you adapt to your child's preferences during meals, you both win: the children gain a little independence and eat the food you prepare for them.
When planning meals, ask your child what would you like to eat this week Or take him to make the purchase and tell him to choose a vegetable he wants to try.
Adapting to children's preferences does not mean dining chicken nuggets every night. If you are going to make an exotic dish of spicy food, put less spices for the children.
Meals in which young children they can serve themselves They are also a good idea because it allows them to choose how much they will eat (for example, not including sauce).
3. Have children try new foods
Don't put pressure on him your son to eat what he doesn't like. Nothing happens if you don't like broccoli.
Several researchers in the United Kingdom have tried several methods to make children taste the vegetables they don't like. After 14 days of testing, they concluded that the best strategies included a combination of repeated daily exposure to those foods, offering non-food-related rewards if they tasted the foods they did not like and that the parents ate the same food That the child.
If you refuse the food at first, try again several times (without pressing). It may take 10 to 15 times until a child likes a new food.
It is much easier to have a child try new foods than to force him to eat them. Try offering small portions.
Using rewards as stickers can improve your child's tolerance to accept new foods and make each new dish fun. Congratulate your little one when trying new foods and be impartial if you decide not to eat them.
4. Be a healthy eating model
It is also important to eat with your child when you offer new foods. You can't expect your child to eat vegetables if you don't eat them either!
Children with parents who have healthy eating habits tend to be less "picky", usually try more vegetables that they don't like and generally consume more fruit and vegetables.
5. Children can be our kitchen pinches!
Making the whole family participate when cooking can relieve stress during meals.
You don't have to do everything yourself! You can have your child wash the food you are going to cut or set the table while dinner is in the oven.
There are several studies that show that children who are involved in some way in preparing meals have a more positive attitude towards food and are usually eating the food they have helped to cook.
By making your child your kitchen click you will get him to eat more healthy food in the short term and you will teach him good practices for a lifetime.
Check out this list of tasks by age to get the little ones to participate in the kitchen!
For ideas about recipes adapted to children, you can go to these delicious recipes written by the researchers of the Guelph Family Health Study.
If you let your child develop their own tastes, preferences and passion for healthy food, family meals will be more enjoyable in the short term and your child's diet will benefit in the long term.
Authors: Kathryn Walton, Dietitian and Professor of Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph and Jess Haines, Associate Professor of Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph
This article has originally been published in The Conversation. You can read the original article here.
Translated by Silvestre Urbón.
Photos | iStockphoto
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