Kids are cute, but let’s address the elephant in the room: they are picky eaters! In our endeavour to feed our kids the right food, we go wrong in a lot of ways.
Instilling good eating habits in early childhood is key to ensuring they are able to balance a good and nutritious diet even growing up.
Picky eating should be addressed right at its outset, and there are a few things you can do to avoid it in your infant. Let’s talk about them:
1. Eat with your little one
Children look up to their parents. If you eat a certain kind of food, they will imitate you out of curiosity and admiration. Kids replicate their parents, and that’s a fact.
If mealtimes are associated with being away from you, kids are going to have a shorter attention span than usual and get picky super quickly. Sit with your little one, and make mealtime a fun affair for them to ensure they nurture a healthy relationship with food.
2. Give them the independence
Kids always want to prove they can “do things themselves”. That’s (kind of) true. Even if they are getting things messy, it’s a good thing in the long run.
One easy way to implement this is by introducing Rorosaur into their diets. This easy-to-feed and 100% natural formulation enables your child to slurp down their food, without any help from parents, and sans any mess.
And the best part? The packaging is so fun and adorable that kids love to hold it, play with it, and feed themselves from it. It’s a win-win situation all around.
3. Keep your emotions in check
On the dinner table, we mean.Feigning indifference is the way to go. If your child refuses to eat and you have a big reaction, they will know how to get that reaction out of you going forward. If they refuse to eat something, just move on with your day… because chances are they will scarf down the same dish tomorrow. It’s just a matter of their mood.
4. Don’t give up!
Introduce new kinds of food every week. Try new textures, new colours, and new tastes to see what kids genuinely enjoy and what they aren’t so fond of. Keep the portions small initially and don’t be afraid to get messy. Let your kids have fun with their food and don’t constantly clean their face and clothes while they are still eating.
Eating habits in childhood shape eating habits in adulthood. Early on, don’t give your child the option to “hate” a certain type of food. If they’re not enjoying eggplants today, they might enjoy them tomorrow, keep at it and try to expand their palette little by little.
Another tip to keep in mind: keep mealtimes fun, but keep them all about food. Try to avoid screen time or any other distractions when they are eating. Sit with your child, and try to converse with them about the food that they are eating. This will keep them engaged and also interested in their meals.
No one said mealtimes would be easy, but it’s all part of the parenting experience.
At Rorosaur, we go out of our way to make sure you’re making the most of it! Make mealtime a fun and memorable experience for you, your child, and your relationship going forward :)
