Food Archives - Painter Mommy

All parents worry if they’re providing nutritional goodness for their kids, especially when dealing with picky eaters. How can you make sure your children are getting all the nutrients they need to grow?

Here are six simple tips to help you feel confident you’re feeding your kids everything their growing bodies need.

1. Consume calcium

Do you remember that song from nursery school about how important calcium is for teeth and bones? Well, you can ensure that your kids get their calcium intake by including calcium-rich foods like spinach, broccoli, and milk in their regular diet.

2. Milk your way to healthier choices

Since milk is so easy to consume, it’s vital to include it in your child’s diet. When it comes to the type of milk you choose to give to your child, it all depends on their age and needs.

Babies who are less than 12 months old must be breastfed exclusively. Toddlers older than a year and up to the age of two will do well to consume some a2 goodness. This refers to milk made from cows that exclusively produce the a2 protein. This means it contains all the goodness of milk, just without the digestive disturbances common to the a1 protein.

3. Serve snacks

You must keep in mind that children have smaller tummies. They cannot be satisfied with just eating breakfast, lunch, and supper.

The suggested number of snacks for children is two per day between their three main meals. Also, snacks must be healthy and evenly spaced out between meals. It is advisable to give a child a snack at least two hours before main meals.

Since children feel hungry between mealtimes, they are more likely to settle for a healthier treat if that’s what’s on offer for snacks.

4. Keep up the carbs

Children eat to gain energy and one food group that is known to provide lots of energy is carbohydrates. The good news is that it’s easy to incorporate carbs into your child’s diet.

Make sure that they’re eating balanced meals with fruits, vegetables, and grains and they’re good to go! You can prepare a potato side dish or include rice with dinner. Fresh brown bread is another easy and accessible source of carbohydrates for kids.

5. Be generous with your servings (but not too generous)

Usually, parents feel uncertain as to how much to feed their children. A rule of thumb is to always dish out less than you assume your child will eat. If your child is still hungry after the first serving, they can just ask for more.

The right amount of fat, iron, and calcium to give your child per meal is about a third of an adult serving.

6. Vitamins

All parents hear about how essential vitamins are for kids. Growing children need adequate vitamin intake to grow up healthy and strong. Luckily, nature takes care of us that way, so most foods include vitamins already.

For instance, red peppers and carrots are a good source of vitamin A. Some parents may also give children multivitamins each morning, but you must always consult with your pediatrician before giving your child any supplement.

Everything should be served in moderation. Be sure to incorporate all five essential food groups into your child’s diet, and remember that the healthier you keep your meals, the more your child will start to crave healthy things. Make a good impression and set the tone for nutritious eating from the onset. The rest will take care of itself.

Photo: Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

Out of my 4 children, it seems like they are ALL picky with food in some way or another. My youngest is only 5 months, so I suppose I wouldn’t count him just yet. But he is lactose intolerant just like the rest of them (thanks to hubby who has passed this down to them). 🙂

I definitely would’nt blame lactose intolerance on why they are picky about food. I think it is just plain “being a normal kid”. I have never met a child who wants to eat anything and everything. My 18 month old had a bit of a phase where he was like that – I loved it, because it was so easy. But it only lasted a few months and he was soon spitting things out and throwing entire plates of food onto the floor.

It is so frustrating hearing the whines at dinner time about why we have to have this or that and how they wished they could have something else. My oldest will be 6 this week and he is the hardest to deal with when it comes to food. His sister is 18 months younger, but she follows what he does – so it becomes a bigger battle because they both begin whining and complaining.

I have seen some moms give in to this and wind up preparing something totally different for the child. But I think that is completely ridiculous. This just shows the child that they can get what they want when they whine. My husband and I were talking about this tonight when I was making a Sunday evening light dinner since we always have a big lunch. I made chicken and melted cheese on crackers. Well, my son didn’t want the chicken. He just wanted the cheese. But I said no and said if he doesn’t like it he is not going to eat anything.

Am I being too rough? I really don’t this so. Of course there are times when your child is really not going to like certain things that you make. Don’t expect a child to be happy about spinach or liver. So, you may need to improvise a little. But if you are making a meal for the rest of your family and one child is refusing to eat it – I feel that it would not be healthy for you to cook something entirely different for that child just to please them. It can become a manipulation. What do you think? Do you agree?

Well, anyway, I did a little research on the subject of children who are picky eaters and I came up with a bunch of great resources. First, check out this video. If you are reading this post on Facebook, you will probably need to click on the post title to go directly to my blog to view the video.

The video includes a few helpful steps such as:

Don’t be too hard on a child who avoids trying new foods

Look for patterns in what your child will and will not eat. Preparing a specific food in a different way might be helpful

Continue to introduce new foods and even involve your child in helping pick out new foods to try (this is great for veggies and fruits)

Be creative in how you serve food -child like to scoop and dip.

Have your child help prepare the food – this can increase their interest in eating it

Don’t bribe your child to eat food that they don’t like with food that they do like. This reinforces that some foods are bad and some are good. They will dislike the bad food even more. And bribing can teach a child how to be manipulative

As a parent, when eating with your child – show lots of expression about the food and talk about how much you like it. Children take cues from us.

Make it a rule that your child has to take at least one bit of whatever food you make. Research shows that it can take 10 exposures to help acquire a taste for the food.

And lastly, the video said that according to a study done, there is not much difference between the nutrient intake of a picky eater and a non picky eater. This makes me feel a little bit better. 🙂

I also found these great resource as well that you should check out for more info on how to deal with a picky eater.

Children’s nutrition: 10 tips for picky eaters (from the Mayo Clinic)

Expert Answers to your Picky Eater Problems (from iVillage Parenting)

Converting a Picky Eater (from About.com)

My Child is a Picky Eater (from Essortment)

From reading some of the above resources, I came up with a list of more things that may help with children who are picky with food. Some I am already doing and some I am going to try.

Do not force a child to eat. You don’t want eating to become a negative experience
Keep a daily meal and snack routine
Talk about the food – don’t focus on taste – focus on color, shape, texture, smell, etc
Minimize distractions during mealtimes. Turn off the TV, keep toys and books away from the table
Serve smaller portions
No big snacks or even drinks before dinner
Eat WITH your child
Make the food attractive

I sure have learned a lot! This is why I love blogging! 🙂 How about you guys – any extra tips? Do you have a child who is a picky eater? How do you handle it? I would love to hear from you.