Achieving good eating habits in children it is not easy But when we are accompanied by sensory, physical, and communication difficulties, the challenge is even greater. It's common for our children to dislike certain foods, to reject certain dishes or even drinks. Our goal in this article is Look for alternatives or ways for our little ones to have a complete, balanced and healthy diet..
We all know the theory very well, but how do we get them excited about trying other textures, colors, and flavors? Here are some principles before starting the "Training"!
- Change is possible: One thing we have to be clear about to start with is that tastes change, that our children they have not always eaten the same thing since always, so if they have managed to vary their diet once, they will also be able to do it more times.
- The sooner the better: All things that have to do with habits, education, even if it's culinary, if we start as soon as possible. a big mistake if we think that there are foods for children and others notNot all foods will appeal to children at first bite, but the sooner they view eating as an exploratory experiment, the more curiosity they have, the more adaptive they are, and the less rigid they will feel in the future.
- The more variety the better: Try everything. There are millions of textures, colors, shapes, creams, sauces, pieces, fruits, vegetables, nuts... food is so rich that the more varied our attempts, the more we'll be able to succeed. The same food can be cooked in so many ways that it seems almost impossible (and sometimes it is) to limit yourself to just 3 or 4.
- Find the moment: Eating habits are also related to time in several ways:
- breakfast, lunch, meal, snack or dinner… All people regulate themselves and tend to have a greater preference for some of these foods, so let's try to find the right time to introduce new foods.
- before, during or after… perhaps when there is more hunger, but another case is that there are people who are less tolerant when they are more hungry, they find it hard to start eating because they are not big eaters and they need a moment to get into the rhythm and then when the moment of "vortex" is over, one relaxes and is able to play, experiment... look for your child's.
- seasonal… No one can deny that depending on the day, the season, the temperature, some types of foods, textures, colors may be more appealing than others, so get up to date on how to tune into that natural desire of the body in its seasons.
- Maintain a fixed schedule for each meal: We must accustom our children's bodies to comply with schedules and avoid skipping hours. Take great care of the “between hours” There are people who do not have an effect on their appetite, but there are others who can completely lose their appetite for the main meal.
- Original or traditional meals: Here we are presented with a dilemma, on the one hand a new and original dish can create attraction and motivation in a group of children but in another it can create a rejection because they like things as they know them, as they are used to and trying to follow their eating pattern to introduce variety although not so abruptly can be a success in many children. Little by little to increase flexibility in tolerance to new foods you have to try not to fall into monotony, make the menu can vary to prevent your little one (1) from becoming rigid in eating habits and / or (2) from getting bored of the same food always.
- Bring your favorites to the table! All their preferences can help us, whether they like numbers, letters, geometric shapes, or anything can help us improve the presentation and initial impact of new things on our children. There are pasta shapes in stars, letters, numbers, and so on. Imagination can help us capture our little ones' attention during this time of rigidity.
- Any step forward is a change: The simple fact of touching a new food, smelling it, tolerating it on the plate with the rest... let's think that anything brings us closer to our goal, so start with small steps to gradually complete our challenge.
- Eat together as a family whenever possible: We mustn't forget that children are role models, so it's important to be able to eat with them to shape their behavior and ensure they increasingly adapt to what we eat, avoiding having to make different meals for each child. This will also lighten our logistics and time burden. Let's try to make meals a space for dialogue, enjoyable with conversation and sharing. Otherwise, they may learn to associate food with stress.
- Involve your children in grocery shopping and meal preparation. These activities will give us clues about your children's food preferences, an opportunity to teach them about nutrition and provide their children with a sense of accomplishment. Additionally, children may be more willing to eat or try foods they help prepare and purchase, indicating they already have a tolerance or prior exposure.
- Try to avoid eating while watching TV. Try to eat only in designated areas of your home, such as the dining room or kitchen. Eating in front of the TV can make it difficult to pay attention to food and feelings of fullness, and can lead to overeating.
- Very important how much??? Try to keep portions small if you're a picky eater. This way, you'll feel like you're in control instead of facing a plate that's already filling just by looking at it. Repeating or asking for more would be an indication that you're doing something right!
All these recommendations are customizable But they can give us some good clues to successfully get our children to gradually become more versatile, calmer, more flexible eaters and that it is not a traumatic moment that occurs 3 times a day Because it must be exhausting for you to have that recurring problem, so good luck with your attempts! Let's not forget to be patient with them and with yourselves and to foster these habits day by day, and little by little we'll see good results.