Dealing with Little Fussy Eaters
How Parents can Overcome Anxiety About Kids not Eating Enough
May 20, 2009
Many young children are very fussy eaters. They pick on their food and behave badly during mealtimes. Not surprisingly, many parents, particularly mothers, become worried and resort to all kinds of approaches, including threats, bribery and rewards, to get the kids to eat.
However, many parenting experts discourage the use of such tactics to encourage fussy eaters to eat. Instead, some think that parents can overcome their anxiety about kids not eating enough by dealing with their own beliefs and feelings. Here are few things for parents to think over when their kids refuse to eat.
Avoid Forcing Children to Eat Everything
In the past, many young children were forced to eat everything on their plate because of their parents or grandparents’ belief that food should not be wasted. This is particularly common among those who experienced starvation and hardships during war times. While starvation is still a real thing in many Third World countries, it is now extremely rare in the developed world.
Roni Jay, author of The 10 Most Important Things You can Do for Your Children [Pearson Education Limited, 2008], warns that forcing children to eat everything can turn it into a life-long habit. “What you end up with can be an overweight adult who has eaten more than enough and is no longer hungry, but still feels compelled to clear his plate,” writes Jay, adding that the healthy thing to do is to stop eating once full.
Believe that Children Will not Starve
Unless a child is disabled or suffers from a serious medical condition, he will not starve if his parents or caregivers give him enough food, says Dr. Penelope Leach, author of Your Baby and Child [Dorling Kindersley, 2003]. “This is not a careless generalization but true of all children,” except those for whom by reason of youth or disability, where the mechanics of eating are an impossible challenge,” she writes.
Fellow parenting expert Michael Grose shares this sentiment. He says that many parents create problems for themselves when they insist that food be eaten. “It’ is a child’s decision to eat. Given the choice to eat or starve, children will choose the former every time!” Grose writes in One Step Ahead: Raising 3 to 12 Year Olds [Random House Australia, 2000].
Monitor the Child’s Weight
A good way to know whether a kid’s food and nutritional intakes are adequate is by looking at his growth chart. Monitor his increasing weight and its consistent upward curve on the growth chart. Parents who are not sure or not convinced that the child’s weight gain and growth rate are what they should be can have the child checked by a healthcare nurse or a doctor on a regular basis.
Parents can deal with little fussy eaters by addressing issues concerning their own beliefs and feelings about kids’ food intakes. When kids refuse to eat, avoid forcing them to eat. Believe that they will not deliberately starve themselves if they know how to eat. Still worried? Monitor the child’s weight to ensure he is growing healthily.
Found this article useful? Read also Making Mealtimes Fun, Stress-free Mealtimes for Families and Healthy Food Choices Improve Kids’ Behavior.
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