[Nubella News] - How many times have you wished for nickel every time you encouraged your kids to eat their vegetables? But what if pushing our children to consume certain foods just might turn them off to healthy eating?

"Don't force your child to eat a food; they will only resist and that will decrease their liking of that food," said psychologist David Benton, a childhood obesity expert at the United Kingdom's University of Wales. "Offering desserts as a reward for eating greens or some other distasteful food makes the reward food more desirable to your child and the food you are trying to encourage them to eat, less desirable.

"This makes encouraging your child to eat a healthy balanced diet even more difficult."

Benton said parents, brothers, sisters and grandparents can help shape a young child's food preferences by eating healthy themselves and encouraging kids to eat the same healthy and balanced diets.

"Children a more likely to accept a new food if they see their parents or older siblings eating and enjoying that food," he said. "If your child sees you eating vegetables, and they think it tastes good, they are more likely to follow suit in the future than if they didn't see you eating them."

Becoming fussy very early

But it isn't always smooth sailing for us, because many children become fussy eaters around the time they're 18 to 24 months old.

In fact, our toddlers who once were more than happy to eat a wide range of healthy foods, including fruits and vegetables, may start turning up their noses at particular offerings when they get a little older. And some may even become afraid of new foods.

"Be patient when it comes to getting your child to try new foods, although this may be easier said then done," Benton said. "The more your child is exposed to a food, the more likely they are to try it.

"It takes approximately 11 times for a child to try a new food, although it can be as many as nearly 90 times. Refusal of new foods is common when children move from a liquid to a solid diet."

Tips for dealing with fussy eaters

In addition to parents and others being good role models, here are other tips from Benton for turning fussy eaters into healthy ones:

•  Make mealtimes fun. During meals, don't chastise and let a child's failure to eat cause unpleasantness.

•  Expose your child early to a range of foods, tastes and textures.

•  Keep trying new foods. Repeated exposure to initially disliked foods can breakdown resistance.

•  Don't restrict access to particular foods. This increases preference for and consumption of that food.

•  Don't force your child to eat a particular food. Doing so will decrease the liking of that food - and may even cause the child to fear it. 

•  Don't use high-energy foods as rewards and treats for eating right. Instead, take your child to the swimming pool or movie.

Kids want fun 

In fact, Just Kid Inc., a children's marketing group in Stamford, Conn., says more than half of America's children say they wish they could have more fun when eating meals and snacks.

"The key to getting kids to eat more nutritious meals is to inject the same levels of taste and fun they experience when consuming less healthy snacks," says George Carey, the company's president.

According to the company's study, most children aged between 2 and 12 agree they have a blast when they can:

•  Eat a food item with their fingers;

•  Dip or scoop food;

•  Add sprinkles, sauces or toppings themselves;

•  Eat foods with filling and frosting;

•  Consume foods with funny shapes or cool colors;

•  Take the foods and drinks with them.

The company's "FUNdamentals" study sampled 3,230 children 6-12 and mothers of children 2-5 throughout the country.

Editor's Note: This article contains information from the Sugar Bureau in London, the trade association for the United Kingdom's sugar industry.

Got a fussy eater - either an adult or a child - on your hands? You just may find the solution in Nubella's 6,000-plus recipe repository and in the popular Healthy Cooking Center.

Source: Nubella News
Posted by: Steve Smith
Reference: International Journal of Obesity
Website: www.nubella.com

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