Picky eating is always a problem that makes many parents have a headache. If the picky eating condition in children persists, it can affect the child’s development. Let’s find out why children are picky eaters and how to overcome picky eating in children with the following article.

Picky eating is a fairly common condition in children’s development for many reasons. One of them is that children need time to adapt to new flavors of food. So why are children picky eaters? The following article will help you find useful advice for picky eating in children.

Why are children picky eaters?

Picky eating is a fairly common condition in young children, this is a term that refers to children not eating enough food, causing meals to last longer than 30 minutes. If picky eating persists, it can affect the child’s future development. Picky eating is not a disease, picky eating is a symptom that comes from many different causes, specifically:

Children have a certain disease

If in the case of a child suffering from one of the diseases related to the digestive tract, the child’s body will lose a lot of minerals, thereby causing the child to have a poor appetite than usual. In addition, treatment with antibiotics will also make the child more tired and lose appetite.

Antibiotic treatment when children are sick is also one of the reasons why children are picky eaters.

Food that does not suit the child’s taste

This is also one of the reasons why children are picky eaters. Usually, from the age of 2, children have their own taste, so if parents prepare food that is not delicious, not attractive and not tasty, it will cause children to lose their appetite.

Children are busy playing

Many parents often have the habit of letting their children eat while watching electronic devices, thinking that it will help them eat better and better. However, if children are often allowed to watch electronic devices, it will make them not focus on the food, leading to not feeling the taste of the food, gradually making them picky eaters.

Children’s diet is not balanced

If parents often feed their children a diet high in protein and low in fiber, it will overload their digestive system. In the case of children’s unbalanced diets, over time, the child’s body will lack vitamins and minerals, causing the child to lose appetite.

Unbalanced diet causes children to show symptoms of picky eating.

Signs of picky eating in children

Every day, parents spend a lot of effort to prepare delicious and unique dishes with the aim of helping their children eat better, but children still refuse to eat, causing parents to have headaches. Picky eating children are often very easy to recognize. Below are some signs to help parents recognize that their children are picky eaters:

• Children refuse to eat the food they used to like: If your child shows signs of no longer being interested in the food they used to like, this could be a sign of picky eating.
• Children only eat one dish: Children only demand to eat one dish throughout all meals of the day, which is one of the signs that your child is picky eating.
• Children cry during meals: During meals, children often show signs of crying, making a mess, throwing food, etc., then they may be picky eaters. Parents should not force their children to eat in this case because it will make the meal more stressful.
• Children eat slowly: A meal of a picky eater often lasts more than 30 minutes because they eat very slowly.
• Children do not finish their meal: Signs of a picky eater are often leaving food unfinished or not finishing their meal.

One of the signs of picky eating in children is that they do not finish their food portion at a meal.

Helpful tips for picky eaters in children

Picky eaters always give many parents a headache because they don’t know what to do to improve the quality of their children’s meals. Here are some helpful tips for picky eaters in children that you can refer to:

Let your child start with a small portion

Parents always want their children to eat a lot to ensure the necessary amount of calories as well as nutrients for the body. However, when feeding their children new foods, parents should divide their children’s portions into small portions, let them taste each type of food so that they can gradually adapt. After the child has adapted, parents can gradually increase their child’s portion.

Refresh the recipe and presentation of the dish

Some children are picky eaters due to the texture of the dish or some types of food that appear in the dish. Therefore, parents should decorate the dish to look attractive to attract children to eat and eat more deliciously.

Changing recipes will help improve picky eating in children

Let children play with food

In the developmental stage, children are always curious about everything around them. If children spend a lot of time exploring food with their hands instead of eating, parents should let them do that. Because maybe one day they will eat more.

Build a diverse meal

Parents should build a meal for their children with a variety of healthy foods, especially green vegetables and fruits. The diversity of foods in the meal will help children discover new flavors, thereby adapting and reducing picky eating.

Hopefully, the above article will help parents better understand why children are picky eaters, the signs that their children are picky eaters, and from there, have positive measures to help improve the picky eating situation in children. In the process of helping children reduce picky eating, parents should stay calm and patient to be effective.