What To Do When Your Child Won’t Eat

Posted on Monday, 8th February 2010 by admin

Is your child not interested in eating at mealtime? Try a different approach when getting your child to eat.

The Positive Approach

A idea on what to do when your child won’t eat is to focus less on stress. Create a friendly environment as you get your child interested in eating. Have a variety of healthy and nutritious food choices available. For proper child nutrition, allow the child to choose, by placing three or four healthy selections of vegetables, meat or fruit on the table. This will not only allow the child to feel responsible, but eliminate the “power struggle” game between you and your child. You may also allow your child to select various food items for you to eat. Of course, you should eat it enthusiastically, and eat all of it. This places the child in a position of cooperating and makes for an enjoyable meal.

Add Excitement

Present familiar foods, such as carrots, broccoli or other vegetables and fruit, in interesting and fun ways. Perhaps you could arrange a “face” of mashed potatoes, with peas for the “eyes” and slices of carrots for the “nose” and “smile”. A pancake “face” would be adorned with banana slices for the “eyes”, a pat of butter for the “nose” and a syrup “smile”. Of course, sandwiches are always interesting when cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Sprinkle the vegetables with shredded cheddar, for an added flavor children enjoy. If well accepted, melt cheese on any vegetable. This is a perfect way to introduce a new vegetable, since the cheese topping is familiar to the child and part of the dairy food group recommended in child nutrition.

Proper Portions

A good rule of thumb is to provide an age appropriate amount of food for the child. Usually, one tablespoon of each food item for each year of the child’s age, is a good way to consider portion size. Getting your child to eat all of the food in the plate will give both you and your child a sense of accomplishment as the meal is completed.

Common Sense at Meal Time

It just makes common sense to “warn” or give enough time for the child to settle down before mealtime. Allow approximately 15 minutes to prepare for the meal. Teach the child good habits, such as washing their hands before eating and putting away the toys.

With a little imagination, a sense of humor and patience, proper child nutrition, in addition to forming good habits, it may not be such a difficult task when solving the problem of what to do when your child won’t eat.

For additional tips on how to get your child to eat their vegetables, please read 5 Creative Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat Their Veggies.

If your child has a healthy weight and height for his or her age, there is no need to worry. Add multiple vitamins especially formulated for children, in addition to the foods they will eat.

The information in this article should not be considered medical advice. Always check with your physician before following any advice you have read on Brighthub.com.

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/behavior/224.html

http://life.familyeducation.com/behavioral-problems/foods/41288.html

http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/hunger.html

Professional Diet

Professional Weight Loss and Nutrition Association

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