These tips may not always work with all children. You need a flexible approach when dealing with a picky eater. You may even try out new ideas that would cater better to your child’s individual needs.
Coming to terms with your picky eater
There are some picky eaters who are just too reluctant to try new foods or to diverge from foods that they already like. Despite trying different ways to entice your child to eat, he or she may just refuse your advances, as some find it very difficult to accept new foods and need time to adjust. These children tend to get less nutritional benefits as their diet does not comprise all the food groups and is not balanced.
Many extremely picky eaters lack important vitamins and minerals crucial for development. Therefore, they may have specific nutrient insufficiencies due to this lack of proper and complete nutrition. For example, toddlers aged one to three years require 25% to 35% of their energy from fats, and about 10% of these fats should be essential polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Ensuring that your extreme picky eater gets all the nutritional benefits from his diet may prove to be stressful. In order to avoid any future medical problems such as nutritional deficiencies, severe dental decay, dehydration, constipation and other growth problems, it may help to provide your child with some nutritional support. This will ensure your child gets all the nutrients he/she needs for growth and development despite having a very selective diet.
Giving nutritional support
It is important to provide the right type of nutritional support for your child, so that the child meets the requirements for good development. Generally, there are two types of supplementation.
Vitamin/mineral supplementation
Having a child who refuses to eat particular foods may lead to a lack of certain nutrients in your child’s diet. For example, a child who refuses to eat red meat or liver over a long period of time will be deprived of sufficient amounts of iron. This can be made up for by providing a supplementation that focuses on one particular nutrient at a time, such as iron, vitamin A, vitamin D or even zinc and calcium.
The correct nutrient supplementation is required to fulfil his particular nutritional needs. Hence, before giving your child a specific vitamin or mineral supplement, you should consult with your child’s paediatrician. Otherwise, a general supplement would be safer.
Complete nutritional supplementation
This type of supplementation is often used for extreme picky eaters who frequently refuse to eat most foods, resulting in them missing out on many nutrients. Complete nutritional supplementation contains all the macro- and micronutrients such as calcium, iron, protein, fat and other vitamins in the correct composition needed for children. It therefore gives your child all the necessary nutrients required for proper growth and development, preventing developmental problems that may arise from malnutrition.
As always, it is important to get your doctor’s approval before giving any supplements to your child. Not all children have the same nutritional needs and the correct composition of nutrients is required to fulfil each child’s needs.
Switch to supplements only as a last resort or as a complement to his diet. Make sure that your child is not fully dependant upon these supplements and continues to eat a much varied and healthy diet.
Parents play a huge role in a child’s health and well-being. Children are what they eat. What and how you eat too, is important, as you set the example.
But ensuring that your child gets all the nutrients he needs for growing may at times be difficult. The key to overcoming this is to be patient and to never give up. There’s no assurance that your child will take a liking to the food in a week, a month or even in half a year. However, remember that children will usually outgrow their picky eating habits. Persistence will eventually reap rewards.
This article is courtesy of Positive Parenting Nutrition Programme by Malaysian Paediatric Association in collaboration with Nutrition Society of Malaysia, and supported by an educational grant from Abbott Nutrition International. For more information, please visit www.mypositiveparenting.org. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the reader’s own medical care. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
