Despite the guilt and rejection felt by many parents whose children refuse to eat, or won't eat properly, or play up at mealtimes, there is evidence that children have a more efficient metabolic and digestive system than adults, and use even small quantities of food more efficiently. It has been demonstrated that over a period of time, left to their own devices, children tend to eat foods which balance each other and make up a perfectly nutritious diet, provided they are not offered junk foods. As long as your child is growing and healthy, faddy eating should not be a cause for concern.
Self-help: The following tactics help to establish good eating habits: provide as nutritious and as varied a diet as possible; if child picks at food during mealtimes, don't force him or her to eat and don't make a big issue out of not eating, but make it clear there will be no snacks between meals; if child is too tired or too hungry to eat, consider adjusting mealtimes; if child is very young and seems to be hungry outside mealtimes, offer nutritious snacks, but not junk food; never offer or withhold food, especially sweet things, as a bribe or a punishment; allow very young children to feed themselves in their own way - allow them to use their fingers if they want to, don't make them wait once the meal is on the table, let them leave the table as soon as they have finished, and never make them stay at table as a punishment. |
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