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CHILDHOOD |
Moving on to Solid Food
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The Reluctant Eater
The stage of food fads generally begins between the ages of one and
two, and it is quite normal for your toddler to eat only one food
for days on end, refusing to eat anything else. A few days later she
may suddenly change her tastes and opt for a completely different
food, and refuse the one she favoured for the last week. This may be
quite devastating to the mother, but instead of creating a
battleground at each meal, rather find out what foods she will eat,
and you may just be suprised that she is getting a balanced diet.
Sometimes the issue is one of independence, with the toddler
expecting you to respect her own decisions, and this can normally be
overcome by offering her a choice of three to four different
foodstuffs e.g. fruit, yoghurt, cheese or chicken. As a matter of
pride and out of a sense of importance, she will normally eat what
she has chosen. As a general rule, remember that toddlers are
sensitive little people and by bribing, threatening or forcing them
to eat, you will only be damaging their pride, confidence and
spirit, doing more psychological harm than the nutritional value is
worth. If her eating habits still plague you, consult your doctor
for some alternatives or reassurance.
Be creative
Sometimes simple tricks such as buying her a new colourful tablemat,
utensil set or even presenting her food in individually wrapped
tinfoil 'presents', could be a start at achieving your goal.
Imagination does play a great role, and you may even find, a child
that won't eat steamed carrots, will devour a whole bowl of grated
ones. Try and introduce as much variety as possible, and never force
your child to eat, rather turn mealtimes into funtimes, inventing
games which can be fun for the whole family.
Beans, broccoli, spinach and salads are the things young children
love to hate, but you can promote an interest in vegetables by
planting a simple garden with your youngster harvesting his own
meals, this is not only fun but a great saving to your pocket too.
Do-it-yourself meals
Set out the prepared ingredients for a salad, sandwhich, stir-fry or
pizza and encourage your child to make his own meal, this will
create a sense of importance at having his decisions respected and
you may even find that the long lost carrot stick does find a place
in his bowl.
Under disguise
The most obvious way to create change and imagination to you child's
meals, is in the presentation of the food itself. This can be
obtained by pureeing the vegetables in his soups or stews, or even
creating simple pictures out of the food you are serving. This way
the boring bean now acts as a monkey's tail for example and the
dreaded peas as the clown's eyes, and will go a long way to adding
extra interest and fun to the meal.
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