It was afternoon and we mothers were at the stop to pick up kids. The bus stopped and kids came down jumping happily.
There we saw a little girl crying and howling and repeating, “Won’t have lunch today.” The maid who came to pick up Ishani had a tough time to convince her to get down the bus and to take her home!
Ishani was my friend’s daughter. As soon as I came home I called Aradhna, Ishani’s mum. She listened to the day’s incident and shared her ordeal too. Ishani is a fussy eater. So much so that sometimes whole day passes and she doesn’t eat anything. Teacher’s too give a complaint regarding her eating habits.
I was shocked and sad to hear that few initial practices are now proving wrong and also presenting a challenge in the healthy upbringing of her daughter.
I came to know that as soon as Ishani started eating solid food, somehow she was hooked to chocolates, choco chip cookies as well as chips and wafers too!!
Now , I would not like to dwell deep into the reasons behind it but nevertheless it hampered the developing taste buds of child and now she was reluctant to eat healthy food!!
There are certain points which have to be taken into account when your little one starts on solid food.
Start Healthy– A healthy beginning is essential when it comes to children. Be sure that you start with healthy food like fruits vegetable and cereals. It happens that as the child turns a year or two we start introducing a taste of junk food too. Sometimes just for fun, we give them a taste of cold drinks and chocolates. We all will agree that these taste create more craving in us and this happens in children too. Slowly we start using these as pacifiers for different behaviours too.
Don’t worry about messy eating Learning process is never easy. The process of learning to eat on our own is never easy, and it goes through a messy process. Give your little ones time to learn, even if it means messed up clothes!!
Eating independently is an essential life skill which if not developed on time will give tough times later on.
Clock is the Key- Its necessary to follow a routine regarding food habits. Make sure that child eats something substantial as soon as he wakes and freshens up. Don’t start the day with biscuit or cookies or cake, instead start with milk, porriedge, fruits, or juice. Breakfast lunch and dinner along with snacks should be vigilantly followed in a healthy routine. Remember initial food habits are going to make a base of later on lifestyle too.
No Big Platter Please!!-Don’t keep many things in a child’s platter. Make few healthy combos like stuff paratha with various vegetables and mix veg khichri or daliya which give a balance nutrition including carbohydrates and proteins. Include curd and other dairy products regularly in different forms.
While packing tiffin for young tots, don’t pack separate veggies and paratha or pav bhaji or chole bhature. They may be healthy home cooked but are cumbersome for children to eat during lunch time, and we can’t expect teachers to feed individually!
Pack paratha in form of rolls. Make Paneer roll, Egg roll, Vegetable roll or even chocolate or jam roll too. Believe me, children will wipe out the tiffin for sure!!Pack rice in varied taste, with lots of finely chopped greens which can’t be picked out by picky eaters too 😉
Follow what you Preach – As a parent it is necessary for us to maintain a lifestyle which we want our kids to follow.If we wish to develop healthy eating habits in children we have to be a role model ourselves and enjoy fruits veggies and healthy food options.
Don’t miss out fun Lastly don’t treat eating time as a work.You have cooked it with love, give your slow eater time to eat. It may prove tiring for you, but it is just for few years and this food is the key to the health and well-being of your little one.
So parents make sure that you eat healthy, cook healthy and develop healthy eating habits in children too!
Happy parenting!
By Sarita Shukla
She is a proud mother of two handsome teenagers. It has been fun to teach them life and amazing to learn new life theories from them!! Writing is therapeutic for her. When not writing, she is an avid reader. Do check her blogs on www.saritashukla.wordpress.com
