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Did you know that if you feed your child, an excess of sugar rich food, it will result in hyperactive behaviour? This is what a report published in Parents suggests[1]. Children are extremely picky in their eating habits and may often compensate eating essential vegetables with not so healthy snacks. While it is okay to give in to their desires on a few occasions, doing so regularly will only deprive them of essential vitamins, nutrients and proteins, which can hamper development and health. In order to ensure that your child has a proper balanced meal, here are funny and interesting ways to feed unwilling children.
Make Meal Time Fun
Kids generally love to substitute broccoli and spinach for mac and cheese. To ensure that your child eats the former instead of the later, relate healthy food to fun things that your child loves. If he is a fan of a particular superhero, tell him that Batman had vegetables every day in order to become strong enough to fight the bad guys. Children generally put such heroes on a pedestal and are influenced by what their idols do. You can even let your child play with their favourite action figure while you feed them with a few essential bites of veggies.
Reward Good Behaviour
Children have a tendency to complete a particular task if there is an incentive to do so. You can buy your child his/her favourite toy if they manage to eat a specific vegetable for an entire week. Rewards must not only be restricted to veggies, some kids may cringe from dairy products, which are a vital source of nutrients. Set a goal for your child, which on completion will result in a new toy. For example, by having ten glasses of milk in a week, you can reward your child with something he/she desires. You can even make desserts a reward, which your child can look forward to on completing his/her meal.
Give Them Options
It may be difficult for you to get your child to eat if you only give him veggies on a plate. Instead mix it up with veggies, meats and whole grains. It is a fact that children are more likely to develop life-long good eating habits if they are allowed to select their own diet from a variety of nutritious foods, says a report published by College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences[2]. So, rather than forcing a vegetable on him/her, give them the option to choose between two alternatives.
[1] http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/feeding/healthy-eating/facts-about-feeding-kids/
[2] http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_e/E134.pdf