Tips To Train Your Picky Eater
Your lovable toddler is oh so sweet, charming, and entertaining but when it comes to trying a new food, all their wonderful characteristics turn sour. The rejection of foods is natural and could become problematic when you assume that your child dislikes the food and will never eat it again. Our natural response is to overreact, but resist that urge. A toddler may show rejection towards a certain food to gain attention or as a way to assert their independence. Of course, wanting to applaud him for gaining a sense of self-reliance is natural, but don’t.
Here are some ways to entice your picky eater and broaden her horizons;
Your Picky Eater: Provide Food Entertainment.
Your child might be getting bored of the same foods cut up the same way. No matter what’s inside the bread, toddler’s find it more fun to eat a sandwich if it’s cut into shapes. Use cookie cutters to make an ordinary sandwich into an extraordinary one for your tot. You can also decorate the top of the sandwich with veggies to make a face.
Your Picky Eater: A Helping Hand.
Having your toddler help in the kitchen is the perfect way for them to try what they’ve created. If you have cutlery that’s child-friendly, have them help make their sandwich, wash their fruit and veggies, help to spoon hummus into a bowl, and anything else you can have them help you with. Grocery shop with them also!
Your Picky Eater: Don’t Give Up.
A huge mistake parents make is never trying another food with their child. They automatically think, they’ve tried it once, and they’ll never like it. Research shows that if you introduce that same food their adverting in two weeks, they could gain interest. It could take up to 15 attempts before accepting the new food as a new taste.
Your Picky Eater: Try New Things.
Load your child’s plate up with their favorite food and then add some new things to it. They will explore the new food by picking it up, taking a bite and seeing if their interested. Make sure if you encourage them to at least try it.
Your Picky Eater: Present Food Differently.
Your child might love steamed carrots if she isn’t too into them raw. If they don’t like the yogurt in a cup, try the squeeze yogurts. Soybeans might not be their favorite, but tofu could be.
What's your opinion?