Making mealtimes happy and stress free go a long way in your child's journey with food.;
As a child nutrition advisor, I come across so many parents who face a lot of trouble feeding their kids healthy food.
;Before labelling a kid as a picky eater it is important to preview the child's relationship with food.
;Is it too stressful ?;
Is meal time a pressure filled situation where parents force the child to eat what they want him/her to eat ?;
Often, lifting up the pressure and stress around meal times works wonders. Children when hungry and happy ...do eat !;
When you run after the kid with a chapatti roll, the kid actually enjoys driving you crazy and if he eats it, the fun would be over 😉 so think again !;
Exceptions of serious picky eaters do exist and will be dealt in a separate post .
;But first let us try to unlabel some really sweet kids out of; picky eating since it's not the food but the stress that is leading to the behaviour .
Some inputs to turn around your child's food fussiness
🍓 Schedule the mealtimes : no snacking before two hours . It is better to serve three big and three snack meals. After a set duration, children are automatically hungry at the set time. ( As in playgroup recess) 🍓Avoid sugar laced drinks : juice,candies few bites of a biscuit or few chips for taste suppress the hunger . 🍓Balance the textures : avoid grouping foods which take a lot of effort to chew . Often the child is tired off chewing a chapatti and rejects other foods on the plate 🍓Reduce gluten : a personal favourite since as Indian parents we pressurize our children to eat roti and it fills them up. Try variety of foods from different nutrient groups and see the magic..
🍓 Buy organic or wash thoroughly : often it's not the fruit or veggies but the chemicals that the child is rejecting.

Do share your experience in comments;
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