How do babies become good and not picky eaters?

Many parents are worried about their babies being picky eaters. Picky eaters will inevitably lead to the babies becoming thin, malnourished and developing bad habits. So, regarding the common problem of babies being picky eaters that worries parents, what methods are there to help babies become good babies and not be picky eaters, so that they can grow up healthily and develop good habits of not being picky eaters? So let’s see what to do!

The age for infants and young children to add complementary foods is 4 to 6 months. If they are breastfed, children with good growth and development should add complementary foods at 4 months old, while children with slower growth and development should add complementary foods at around 6 months old. The order of adding complementary foods to babies should be cereals, vegetables, fruits, and animal foods.

Parents should add cereal complementary foods when their children are 4 to 6 months old. Cereal foods are iron-fortified and can be easily digested and absorbed in the child's gastrointestinal tract. Parents can choose paste-like foods such as rice noodles; then add vegetables, starting with root vegetables and melons, and then slowly increase to other vegetables, and then fruits; when the child is 7 to 8 months old, fish and meat can be added; and eggs can be added when the child is 9 to 11 months old.

Many parents believe that the first complementary food to add is egg yolk, which is an old view. In recent years, studies have found that eating egg yolks too early may be one of the causes of children's allergies in the future. Therefore, modern medical views recommend postponing the age for adding egg yolks to 9 to 11 months.

When adding complementary foods, the amount of food added should increase from small to large, from thin to thick, and from one type to multiple types. For example, you can add one complementary food at a time, give your child a small amount on the first day, and then add the same food on the second day, but in a slightly larger amount. After 2 to 3 days, if the child does not feel unwell, add a new food. Parents should change different types of vegetables, fruits, meats, and seafood so that the child's taste buds can try a variety of flavors, reducing the chance of picky eating in the future.

Babies may be picky eaters because parents are negligent in developing their eating habits, which causes the baby to develop picky eating habits, thus bothering the parents for a long time. Therefore, as for the phenomenon of babies being picky eaters, parents can correct their babies' picky eating habits by paying attention to and understanding their babies' eating habits, and their babies will no longer be picky eaters. I hope the above suggestions can help parents and babies can grow up healthy and happy.