How to Get Your Child to Eat Different Foods

Are you unsure whether your child is a picky eater or not? Well, if your child only chooses to eat the same food for a few months and suddenly decides not to have it anymore, your guess is probably right.

Picky eating refers to a situation when a child is usually very selective and decides what, when and how to eat food.

Your child is a picky eater when:

1. Plays with food

2. Take a long time to finish the meals

3. Only like certain type of food, presentation, and maybe even a specific food brand

4. Is a poor eater but doesn't present any clinical condition associated with poor eating

Nearly half of the children these days are picky eaters, with a majority of parents claiming that their children have some difficulties during meal times. So, it's no surprise if you are concerned for your child since this bad habit can lead to a series of health problems.

Possible effects of picky eating can be:

1. Weight loss and poor mineral and vitamin level.

2. Difficult to concentrate at school

3. Falling sick frequently (due to low immunity)

4. Poor growth

5. Increase risk of developing eating disorder in future

Sometimes a child might reject the food served to him due to food-neophobia, i.e. unable to accept new and unfamiliar food.

Here are some tips of helping a child to accept new food:

1. Try to give a variety of food at an early age. Introduce new food slowly and one by one, to help him get use to the food.

2. Be patient. Sometimes it may takes more than 8-9 times to get him to accept new food. Keep trying slowly to feed it to him. Remember not to force him too much though.

3. Talk to him through this whole process to encourage him to continue trying new food.

4. Set limit for your child, like setting time limit for him to finish his meals.

5. Set a good example yourself when serving new food by eating some yourself. Children usually will follow what their parents do.

If your child is showing signs of poor appetite, nutrition counseling and nutrition supplements for child may help him catch up in growth and keep him healthy.

If anymore problem, seek for help from and cooperate with your pediatrician to find out the real problem behind the poor eating behavior.