4 things you are doing wrong while feeding your fussy eater

Stop doing these mistakes while feeding your child right now.

You have tried all the methods in the parenting books, the recipes for fussy eaters and all kinds of tricks and threats to make your little one eat. But, you failed miserably. You get stressed during your little one s meal times and fret about it.

If this explains your situation, then take a step back and check your behaviour. Are you committing these mistakes with your fussy eater? Here are five practical tips to deal with a fussy eater.

Talking negatively: If your child prefers to eat cookies over an apple what would you do? Ask her to eat the apple or instruct her to leave the cookie? Instinctively you will tell your kid to drop that cookie and pick the apple. And there you go wrong. A study conducted by researchers at Cornell University showed that negative messages like Don t eat a cookie, it can make you fat, fails to work with children. Instead, telling them that an apple is healthy and has vitamins in it can help do the trick. Positive messages about food have a greater impact on the innocent brains than the negative ones. Here are 12 superfoods that can help your child develop immunity.

Extending meal time: By talking positively you can get your child to eat broccoli and spinach but probably not able to finish the entire meal on time. It stretches to become a three-hour stressful affair. This is the second mistake you make. Experts suggest that whatever your child eats within the first 15 to 20 minutes is enough to keep her satiated till the next meal. Trying to feed her forcibly will create a bad association with food. If your child is fussy about food, try offering food every two hours if she eats less. Being hungry for too long can cause a dip in blood sugar level leading to nausea and fatigue. Here are 8 ways to make mealtimes more fun for your toddler.

Feeding when not hungry: Fussy eaters hate being fed when they aren t hungry. Every child has unique need,s and responds differently to social cues. If your child has had very little exercise between two main meals or has a sluggish digestion, then there is a possibility that your child might not feel hungry when you do. So if you don t follow your child s hunger cues, feeding becomes a challenge. Here are some tips to keep your child cool in the summer.

Offering snacks too often: The fillers that you give in-between meals are the blocks you create between healthy eating and your baby. Stop offering chocolates, chips, biscuits or even homemade sheera, seviya just before meals. If your child is feeling full, it is quite obvious she will refuse food. If your child had not had a full meal on time, don t offer fillers. Instead, wait until the next meal, and start it without much delay.

With inputs from IANS

Images source: Shutterstock

---

For more articles on parenting, visit our Parentingsection. For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter.