It’s hot and my child is picky about food, what should I do? These few tricks must be learned

The hot weather reduces appetite, and children don’t like to eat vegetables. They are picky eaters and have partial diets, which makes parents very worried. Nutritionists point out that to improve children's picky eating, parents should first have a balanced diet concept, reduce eating out, and patiently create a friendly dining environment to induce children's interest in "eating". This is the only way to improve the situation.

Nutritionist Lin Yaen pointed out that both partial eating and picky eating are both troubling to parents and teachers. Partial eating refers to not eating a certain category of food, while picky eating refers to not eating certain specific foods. If you are picky about food occasionally, you can find other foods to replace them. This is not a serious problem. However, if you are picky about food frequently, it will often turn into a partial eclipse, which not only affects growth and development, but can even lead to health warning signs.

If you have picky eating habits, you should intervene and adjust as soon as possible.

If parents or teachers find that their children have picky eating habits, it is recommended that they intervene and make adjustments as soon as possible to ensure that the children grow up healthily and with nutrition. In fact, most of children’s picky eating habits are learned through imitation, that is, they are “taught” by us adults! Especially in families with three generations living together, when the dietary education of parents and the older generation is inconsistent, it is more likely to induce bad habits in children at the table. Many grandparents would say, "Don't give him this, the child doesn't like it!" Nutritionist Lin Yaen reminds us that if we often say this, it is possible that children will unknowingly develop a picky eating habit.

Therefore, it is recommended that parents and family elders, in addition to being patient and setting a good example, not apply preconceived notions, and not argue with their children over food choices, in order to help children develop good eating habits . At the same time, they can also start with small amounts and teach their children to "try it" instead of blaming them, which will have the opposite effect.

Nutritionist Lin Yaen emphasized that arousing children's interest in food and taste is an important way to avoid picky eating and partial eating. First, through stories and personification, children can simply and clearly understand that eating different foods will make them grow taller, run faster, and be more energetic. With this level of favorability, children will naturally be more willing to try and accept more foods.

Improving food acceptance through gamified food education activities

Children usually have limited concentration and will quickly lose interest in certain things, so to capture children's attention on food, you need to understand their playful nature. Whether it is food education board games, story picture books, or growing, shopping and cooking together , these are all good ways. In addition, you can use color matching, changing flavors and textures, and even decorating the dish to give children a sense of freshness. For example, you can cut vegetables into different shapes, or mix ingredients you dislike with ingredients you like to create new dishes, such as adding carrots and apples to make juice to make the taste more layered and sweeter. These are all feasible ways.

Change the cooking method to encourage children to try surprising things

Not only that, changing the taste of food is also important . For example, vegetables with stronger flavors are recommended to be cooked with meat. For example, carrot stew with meat can make the carrots sweet and soft, and taste like sweet potatoes. Children will be happy to eat it, and then pair it with cartoon tableware to give children different surprises when they eat.

For foods with special flavors, it is recommended to chop them into small pieces and mix them in small amounts with other foods. For example, you can put carrots in meatballs or dumplings. When children get used to the taste, they will slowly accept it. Or you can change the cooking method. For example, if you have always fried eggs, you can try steaming eggs to give children a sense of freshness.

In addition, you can also let your children participate in the cooking process. When they cook by themselves, they will slowly begin to accept the food. Do not criticize your child at the table, which will give him an unpleasant dining experience, or use rewards, such as saying: If you eat this, mom will give you candy, etc., which will give them a wrong perception.