A lot of kids eat a lot, but some may not be too keen on food and in fact reject it. Often, kids go through a phase when they either eat a lot or eat less. Either way, their health is affected. Eating more may lead to obesity, and eating less may lead to malnutrition.
So, how do you make your kids eat more when they seem to hate eating?
1. Reduce the junk foods.
In fact, if possible, give your kids zero junk food. It all depends on training. When kids are introduced to junk food like candies, cakes, chips, processed food and sodas, their taste buds change. They prefer spicy and salty food to real food. So, the remedy is to give them home-cooked meals. Cooking for them enables you to control what your kids eat.
2. Prepare small portions.
You don’t need to give your kids a big portion all at once. That may overwhelm and discourage them from eating. Prepare small portions just enough for them to take one serving at a time. The idea is to prevent them from skipping meals. Soon, they may find the small serving not enough and ask for more.
3. Make their meal more colorful.
Colors attract kids and give them ideas about tasting anything bright and colorful. Nope, we don’t mean you put artificial colors to their food. We mean put in small, thin slices of various healthy foods, like some lean meat, green peas, red tomatoes, yellow-green broccoli, red and blue berries, yellow mangoes, and red and yellow watermelon. You have to be creative in preparing meals for kids, too. [INPOSTLB]
4. Prepare bite-sized food.
Make things easier for your kids. Prepare meat, chicken, bread, vegetables and fruits in ready bite sizes. This makes it easier for them to scoop the food with the spoon and eat. You may also arrange the food on their plate in a way that will tickle their imagination and make the food look interesting to eat. Yes, that’s how picky your small customers can be when it comes to food.
5. Serve simple dishes.
Go basic with kids, especially food that is easy to identify, like soup, bread, rice, fish, meat, vegetables, and fruits. There is a proper time for pizzas, burgers and others. Moreover, consider how certain menus are easier to eat than others, like ground meat is easier to chew than steaks.
6. Use sectional plates.
Plates with sections or compartments are ideal for kids. You can separate the vegetables from meat or vegetables from other vegetables. For instance, some kids don’t like their mashed potatoes touching their turnips or carrots. Sometimes, they don’t like their meat mixing with noodles. Besides, compartmentalized plates in meals for kids look more interesting.
7. Consider foods that are easy to scoop.
Pick food that is easy to scoop with a spoon. Specifically, thick soups are easier to scoop than loose ones. Meat or veggies chopped small are easier to handle with a kid’s small spoon and fork.
As parents, you’d be willing to do everything to make your kids eat. Don’t worry. They might just get over their picky-eater phase soon enough.
