How can I provide food training for children?
Ask any mother what is the biggest problem in raising a child and in many cases, the answer you will get is – feeding the child properly. Mothers are always worried, sometimes the child does not eat, sometimes does not eat properly, sometimes eats useless things, or sometimes eats very slowly, such problems are endless. After observing hundreds of mothers and from our own experience, we found out some tricks by which children can be trained to eat properly from childhood. These good eating habits will be useful throughout your life.
So put on your patience and follow these tips strictly for a week or two and you will see a dramatic change in your child’s eating habits:
- During meals, children should sit with you or with family members for at least all major meals.
- Let the child eat on his own if he wants to, even if it’s a little messy. Over time, he will learn to eat properly by watching everyone else and with some practice. Be patient.
- Ask the child to eat twice a day. If he repeatedly refuses, do not force him to eat or force-feed him. Just let him go. Eventually, when the baby feels hungry and demands food after 1-2 hours, put in front the same food that you gave earlier. This trains the child that food cannot be avoided from home. Do not replace meals with chips/crackers/biscuits/cookies/bread/instant noodles etc. in this entire episode. it is very important. The child may throw tantrums for two meals, but within a week he will definitely learn to eat every meal cooked at home with the family.
- Ask other family members, especially grandparents, to cooperate when you are strict with the child. Their love for the child should not go in the wrong direction of spoiling his eating habits.
- Do not run after the child to get food. Through this, the child learns that eating food four times a day in 15 minutes is better than eating it in an hour.
- Make sure that except on weekends, no one gives ice cream, cola, cream biscuits, cookies, instant noodles, chocolates or any other junk food to the child.
- Make sure these junk foods are ‘special treats’ to the child and are given as a reward for good eating habits week after week. Apart from this, never make junk food a meal option. This should be given separately from the meal as a reward for eating properly.
Try them and tell us how effective it has proved to be.