Feeding a growing child is sometimes a challenging task. Although all parents don’t have to struggle to make their children eat, many have a tough time. What we often don’t realize is that our children are born with wisdom about their food choices. They’re instinctive pickers when it comes to food, and as diligent parents, to teach them independence, we should let them make those food choices every once in a while.
Careful mentoring about making the right food choices is the way to go. Doing so helps achieve the target to nourish your child’s health and protects their body wisdom.
Unsplash | Children have natural likes and dislikes when it comes to food
Read – Changes in children’s behavior with the help of diet
How to protect your child’s innate food wisdom?
There are several ways you can safeguard your child’s instinct in food matters while ensuring balanced nutrition:
Try new foods
Toddlers tend to turn their heads away from a spoonful of the thing they don’t like, which turns into their habit. To maintain their intellect of how much and what they want to eat, you must encourage them to try new foods. Be it fruits, vegetables, or soups. But remember not to force them to eat more than their capacity.
Health benefits of food
Always focus on nutrition intake instead of counting calories. The food the child eats gives strength to its body and stimulates endurance. Therefore compelling won’t solve the purpose, but understanding will do.
Unsplash | Always focus on nutrition intake instead of counting calories
Food is not a reward or punishment
It’s common for parents to offer things like chocolates, sweets, or chips to kids as a reward for a job well done or demonstrating ethical behavior. Having such food intervenes in kid’s natural capability to regulate their eating. Also, they get into the habit of indulging in untimely snacks leading them to have an unhealthy body.
Read – Food: Reward or Punishment
Avoid comments on the child’s appetite
Children may lose interest in the food on the plate if they hear anything negative about it. They tend to start tantrums and eventually avoid mealtimes with you. Therefore, you need to ensure that no remark, either negative or positive, is made over the food while the child is eating. As a parent, you must not even express your negative body image in front of the child.
Right environment
If children are given the right opportunity and proper environment, they choose their best diet. They are born with innate self-regulation about food governed by the sense of taste and smell. You don’t want them to be picky eaters, so give them the nutritional food and environment from day one.
Unsplash | A happy food environment makes a happy child