Helping parents with picky eaters

Is your child a picky eater? This is not uncommon, especially for younger children. Melanie Yates, Speech and Language Therapist at Dover Court International School, a Nord Anglia Education School in Singapore, offers some advice on how to change your child’s attitude towards food into a positive eating experience.

Routine 

Try to eat around the same time every day.

Eat together

Eat as a family as much as possible. Apart from providing a social experience, you are also setting a positive eating example.  

Preferred foods

You can reduce anxiety around mealtimes by having one or two of your child’s preferred foods as part of their meals.

Portion Control

Your child is more likely to eat a smaller portion on their plate and ask for more, than eat a big portion. Alternatively, allow your child to serve themselves, so that they feel they have some control in the eating process

Be positive

Talk positively about food, even if you don’t like it. Try not to focus on the process of eating; but rather the food. For example, rather than talking about how many bites your child took, describe what the food looks like, smells like etc.

Involvement

Allow your child be involved in choosing food when doing your weekly shop, and let them help you in preparing meals.

Reduce sugary snacks

Sugar reduces appetite, so try to avoid sugary snacks or juices prior to a meal.

Have Fun!

For young children especially, keep food fun! Online tools such as Pinterest are great for food/cooking inspiration that can turn regular meals into something more interesting – for both you and your child.