Food vs. Baby: How to Get Your Toddler To Eat
Do you get into a power struggle with a toddler every mealtime? Sometimes they can’t seem to get enough of a particular food and suddenly don’t want it anymore. We understand that this can be frustrating. The best thing to do is loosen up, understand that toddlers are typically picky eaters, and approach the situation gently.
While it’s important to let your child assert independence, experts advise parents to start forming healthy eating habits as early as possible. Research shows that picky eaters ages 4 to 9 tend to stay that way. Here are some ways to expand your child’s palette:
- Help toddlers become more comfortable with the food by involving them in the preparation. Take them grocery shopping or bring them to a vegetable garden. By doing this, they’ll understand where the food came from–which might eliminate any trepidation. When they’re old enough, they could make their own salad.
- Be more creative. Serve their food on a brightly colored plate or cut the food into different shapes. There are lots of plating ideas that can spark the interest of toddlers available on the internet.
- Don’t give up easily. Toddlers may not like the greens the first time around. Avoid forcing them to accept the food. Instead, serve smaller portions next time and let them gradually try new tastes and textures.
- Don’t bargain. How often have you asked a child to eat more for dessert or extended playtime? It’s easy to fall into this trap, but it doesn’t work in the long run. Bargaining can encourage children to always expect rewards each time you ask them to do something. It’s also not a good idea to threaten them with any form of punishment as this can create negative feelings towards meal time.
- Have consistent meal times. It becomes an instinct if you keep doing the same thing for an extended period. Set a time for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, and stick to it. Avoid heavy snacks, so they’re more likely to be interested in the main course. It’s also a way to help toddlers learn to determine hunger and fullness.
- If you could teach your child with items in the kitchen, how about letting them touch their food? Finger feeding should start once a child is nine months of age and then proceed to utensils on the 15th month. Allowing toddlers to take over will teach them to decide what to eat and how much to eat. Watch out for signs that they are still hungry or already full is only necessary. Playing with food could be a sign that they’ve eaten enough.
Toddlers will tell you if they’re hungry, probably by directly asking for food or displaying a mood change. By following the tips discussed above, you can teach them to regular physiological cues and develop healthy eating habits.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
