Tips To Make Children Eat Better

In one of my posts-Weaning-Tips and recipe ideas,a fellow blogger had left this comment –

Hi – I loved to read your article but whats frustrating me is that I am trying all this on my 9month old daughter and she starts gagging and vomitting and does not eat anything of these items listed; no rice, no ragi nothing. SHe’s happy with Farex/cerelac though. Any advice on how I can get her to eat this stuff?

I often come across this situation when I councel anxious moms and I find that each child is unique and we have to try different tactics to get them to eat what we feel is nutritious.When they come for the follow-up,some of the methods I mention does not work out for all the kids-ie there is no tailor-made methods to establish a good feeding habit in children. We have to try different methods and one or the other will work out.

So here are a few to try out to get your child eat better…

1. It is said that the child eats better when exposed to the same food/veggie/fruits over and over again.So keep trying. If the child refuses a particular food stuff ,don’t give up soon.Try giving it for a couple of days and if he still refuses to eat it,use your imagination to mask the original food.If he still refuses,leave the food and start another foodstuff…Once the kid is comfortable with the new food,try the one he refused earlier.Chances are that the kid will start eating what you were trying to feed him the first time…

For example,if you are feeding ragi porridge and suddenly the lil one refuses to feed,try again the next day,if he still refuses ,then try ragi roti/ragi dosa.It has the same goodness as ragi but it is given in another form..[If the baby has started teething and the paediatrician ok’s the dish,try it out].

2.Use a different bowl and spoon for the same dish.When the bowl has funny pictures or cartoons or of a different color ,the child’s attention will change and sometimes they will fail to notice that it is the same old dish!!!!

3.Change the place where you feed the lil one..Say you serve a meal in the dining hall and the child may get bored of the surroundings.Take the lil one to another place,maybe to the backyard or balcony and the different locale may distract the lil one and you can accomplish your mission.

4.Most children hate veggies..Maybe its because they get bored of eating the same veggie the same ,everyday.The best way to incorporate veggies in their diet is to mask them in another dish..You can add grated veggies into the chapathi flour and prepare veggie chapathi..

5.Encourage the child to eat by himself.Prepare small portions like mini pooris,mini idlis or other dishes that the child can clutch and feed.

6.Shape the foods into interesting figures..Prepare triangular dosas,square chapathis or use cookie cutters for other shapes. These finger foods encourage the child to eat by themselves..

7.Don’t show your personal preferences -likes and dislikes-while feeding the baby.This will influence his food choice and may alter the diet later in life too…

If you try all the possible methods and still nothing works out, talk to your pediatrician and he may be able to help you out..