Transcript
If you’re frustrated with your child’s picky eating, becoming the food police only makes it worse.
That’s according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics whiched followed parents and their children for five years.
The study shows that demanding that children eat certain foods, or punishing them by restricting foods, does not help.
Instead the children become even pickier about what they eat.
The authors explain that eating is one of the few things kids have control over.
Pediatricians recommend that you do not demand that children eat all the food on their plates or reward them with dessert.
Children do best when introduced to new foods earlier in life.
Experts say some children are just wired to be picky eaters.
Parents are encouraged to try to make meal time fun and take the pressure off about what kids need to eat.
One of the best practices for parents dealing with picky eaters is to expose children to the food multiple times.
One other positive from the study is that picky eaters typically do not have problems with weight gain or body mass index.
Body mass index is the numerical value of your weight in relation to your height.
If you are at a loss about feeding your kids there’s no shame in reaching out to a pediatrician or nutritionist for more advice.
Posted – 5.26.20