What to do if children are picky eaters

Most parents are facing a problem: their children are picky eaters, and this phenomenon leaves many parents helpless. Because they cannot get better comprehensive nutrition, picky eating seriously affects the development of children. Generally, children with poor appetite will become thin or have decreased resistance and often get sick. Now there are still many children who only like to eat meat and do not like vegetables and fruits. In the long run, they will become obese.

If the mother has tried everything but still cannot solve the baby's picky eating problem, it is recommended that the mother take the baby to a Chinese medicine practitioner for spinal massage treatment. By massaging the meridian points on the back of children, the effects of dredging the meridians, strengthening the spleen and promoting digestion can be achieved.

Some babies don’t eat certain foods simply because they have some dietary preferences, and they are not really “picky eaters”. Even adults have likes and dislikes when it comes to food, so this situation cannot be simply attributed to being "picky about eating". The wise approach is to switch to an alternative food with similar nutritional value so that your baby can get the same nutrients. For example, if your baby doesn’t eat spinach, you can let him eat celery or bean sprouts; if he doesn’t eat pork, you can replace it with chicken or beef. In this way, the baby's "picky eating" will not cause nutritional deficiencies. On the contrary, if you force your baby to eat food he doesn’t like, it will seriously disrupt his mood for eating, and the consequences will be more serious than picky eating or partial eating.

Adopt appropriate game "tactics". Playing games based on your baby's preferences is one of the best ways to increase his intimacy with food. Assuming your baby has watched the Popeye cartoon, you can use Popeye to encourage your baby to eat more food. "Popeye has no strength now, he wants to eat spinach. Come on, Popeye, take a bite of this red spinach (carrot) first! Then take a bite of this green spinach (bok choy)!" Once eating is associated with his favorite cartoon characters, his enthusiasm will naturally come.

We can also let children participate in cooking and let them do things within their ability. When children face the food they have helped to cook, they will generally be curious and eat a few more bites. For flavors that children don’t like, parents must not rush for results. They should first pair them with other foods they like, starting from less to more, and slowly let the children accept it.