Feeding Woes

hpriya 2009-03-19 15:52:48

My son is extremely fussy to have his lunch or dinner or milk.any food is consumed sheerly for the accompanying TV program/cd/game.If i put on a good cd, then food intake is a mechanical process- no fuss.I have tried my level best to engage him in activities like sticker books, join dots, painting, drawing, pizza houses/buses, happy face and numerous other things with squeezy jam..it works for 2-3 days then back to square one.Moreover, he has no interst in eating any food except fruits and lassi which he eats on his own without any fuss.If i let him be hungry even for several hours , he is ready to go hungry but will not ask for food.and then will end up eating fruits/lassi instead of meals.Please help.

Priya

shobha 2009-03-26 10:07:34

Hi,

Initially I used to feed my son while he was watching TV, because he would eat well due to the distraction. Then one day I was reading that children who eat while watching television are more likely to be obese and so I decided to change this. I decided he should know what he is eating and relish it and watching TV while eating prevents that.

Here is what I did and you can try these too:

Initially start with very small portions. Most of the times let him decide the potions of the veggies, dhal and rice. That way he feels he is in total control of this situation. Even if it is only a few spoons that's okay to begin with. Gradually you will see progress for sure.
Try and eat together with your child as family, discuss things talk to him about the things that happened in his preschool, conversations you had with his friends, friends moms etc or even tell them stories about the food they are eating which would make his eating more interesting rather than just a chore.
Make him bite sized potions on his plate and let him choose which potion he wants to eat next, this makes it more exciting for them.
You could give a variety on his plate like plain rice, veggies, dhal rice and make him eat them in a certain order. That way he would eat his least favourite also so that he could get to his most favourite. For example in your son's case since fruit is his most favourite so maybe his plate could have a veggie, dhal rice and some fruits. He has to eat a spoon of veggie and a spoon of the dhal rice to get a piece of fruit.
The key is not to give up, consistency is very important. During meal time he has to finish his food at the table don't let him leave until then. Don't be too harsh just be firm in whatever you say. Last but not the least, let your child be the judge of how much he can eat. Don't stress on the quantity, just give him good quality and variety to eat. As long as he is energetic, plays well and is growing welletc., he is doing great!

This is how we trained our kids to eat and it worked for us, hope it works for you too!

Good Luck!

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