Mealtimes with a fussy eater can be challenging, and mothers often bear the brunt of it. Fussy eating toddlers have strong likes and dislikes and will resort to tantrums if their favourite food is not on the table. For right growth, they require a good mix of macro and micro nutrients that comes from five food groups –vegetables, fruits, protein, dairy and cereals. The age from two to six is the prime time for children to get the right amount of nutrients that lay the foundations to help them grow to their maximum potential. However, fussy eating behaviours, which commonly manifest in toddlers, affect nutritional intake that can have a long-term impact on overall growth and development of children.
So, how can mothers with toddlers who are fussy eaters ensure their kids are getting the right nutrition for right growth?
Dr. Hari Shetty, psychiatrist at Nityan and Clinic, Mumbai says, “Food consumption patterns and preferences are formed very early in life. Toddlers’ eating behaviour is determined by food habits of parents and how they perceive food. The ecosystem around the child plays a critical role in establishing and promoting behaviours that will persist throughout his or her life. Dietary habits are shaped at a young age and maintained during later life with tracking over time.”
Identifying types of fussy eating behaviors
First, it is important to define and understand what constitutes picky eating. Toddlers are classified as picky eaters if they display at least two of the following behaviours:
-Eating only a limited number of foods
-Unwilling to try new foods
-Refusing to eat vegetables and/or foods from other food groups
-Showing strong food likes and dislikes
-Displaying behaviour that disrupts mealtimes
Speaking on the types of fussy eaters, Dr Irfan A. Shaikh, Head - Scientific & Medical Affairs, Abbott’s nutrition business says, “By the time children turn three, most of them have tried about 70 foods and they like 40-50 of those, typically consuming 11-14 solids and liquids in a day. However, food selectivity is when a child refuses to eat foods of particular colours, tastes (sweet, salty, bitter or sour),textures (soft, crunchy, pureed or lumpy) or consistencies (solid or liquid).”
Addressing fussy eating in toddlers
Even as toddlers, children are able to decide what they want to eat and getting them to eat something which they don’t like has to be a conversation or sometimes, even a bargain. And, that means force feeding is not a solution! In fact, the habit of force feeding can itself be the cause of resistance in the child. Parents worried about their child’s fussy eating behaviours can address it with rigour and tact.Here are some proven ways to ensure that toddlers form the right feeding habits and get the right nutrition:
Maintain a food diary: Make a list and track what they routinely eat and drink on an average day. Next, keep a watch on what they eat or drink when variety is offered, while noting which foods they refuse: do they hate certain textures, flavours, colours or consistency?
Create a food chain: Food-chaining is a long-term but effective technique to introduce your child to newer foods if he or she is highly selective (eats less than 15 foods and refuses entire groups of food). It builds on the previous step: making a list of foods that they typically consume and refuse. By looking for common characteristics in the food your child likes, such as flavour, texture or colour, you can begin introducing foods that are similar or prepared in a similar manner.
Anchor Foods: As the name suggests, these are foods that anchor the diet and provide basic nutrients for children who are growing normally but have a limited variety. If a child eats one of each of these foods, then a parent can be reassured that they are getting adequate nutrition. A growing child’s wholesome diet should ideally include all the five food groups – dairy for calcium, fruits for vitamins, cereals for carbohydrates, meats and nuts for proteins, and vegetables for minerals.
Incentivize Meal Times: With older children (those who are five years old or more), parents can try to set different goals to eat new foods, and gratify them with a sticker or by maintaining a progress chart each time they try a food without a prompt.
Nutritional supplements: The stress of meeting the child’s nutritional requirements can also be mitigated by getting toddlers started on a child nutrition supplement which has all the essential nutrients for the wholesome growth and development of a child. It is advisable to consult a doctor for an informed view on what is best for the toddler and additional measures that can ensure the child receives essential nutrients.
Step by step
For the mother, even as she goes through the efforts to set the right eating habits, the important thing is to be realistic and patient: feeding difficulties can take time to improve, but the positive part is that most children make progress as they grow. Following the eight principles of feeding can be very effective: avoid distractions at mealtimes, feed to encourage hunger, limit how long meals last, serve age/texture appropriate food, tolerate age-appropriate mess, encourage self-feeding, maintain a neutral attitude during meals and consistently offer new food.
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