​What should I do if my child is picky about food and doesn’t like to eat?

Being picky about food is a common problem among children. However, if they are picky about food, it will lead to unbalanced nutritional intake for children and can easily induce disease. So what should we do if children are picky about food and don’t like to eat? Let’s take a look with the editor today.

1. Avoid strenuous exercise before eating

Children have no appetite right after strenuous exercise. If they eat at this time, they will inevitably be picky about the food. In the long run, they will easily develop bad habits of being picky about food.

2. Encourage your child to serve before meals

Children are naturally interested in the preparation work before meals, and parents can take advantage of their curious and active nature and let them help set the tables and chairs, serve dishes, divide the bowls and chopsticks, and even let them help wash vegetables and get condiments when cooking. Children will naturally be very excited when they see the fruits of their own labor.

3. Give your child the opportunity to eat independently

Children aged two or three will develop the desire to eat independently. Parents must not ignore this psychological need of their children for fear that they do not eat enough or that they will dirty their clothes or the floor, which will cause the children to lose interest in food. Of course, when parents are training their children to eat independently, they should pay attention to the abilities of children of different ages. For younger children, the feeding practice period should not be too long. Generally speaking, a two or three-year-old child may become tired and unwilling to eat after five minutes of eating with a spoon. If the parents think that the child has not eaten enough, they can feed him again to make sure he is full and well fed; it is best not to force him to continue practicing, otherwise it may also lead to picky eating and refusal to eat.

4. Create a harmonious atmosphere during dining

Regardless of the reason, parents should avoid intimidating, scolding or otherwise punishing their children while they are eating, because negative emotions such as fear, worry, and anger will directly affect children's appetite. Parents should be good at creating a happy atmosphere during meals so that children are in a good mood and enjoy eating.

The above are how to deal with children who are picky eaters and don’t like to eat. If a child is picky about food and doesn't like to eat, you should find out the cause in time and prescribe the right medicine. Don't force the child to eat blindly, as this will only aggravate the child's picky eating and not wanting to eat.