Don't you look on in envy when you see someone else's child eating...anything your child will not touch? Seriously, your child might be the most open-minded kid on the block when it comes to food, but maybe she just refuses to eat broccoli, or carrots, or...you get the picture. We all stress out about what to feed our children, and we all have battles at the table trying to get them to eat wholesome food. Some of us might have issues just getting our kids to eat!
My first child gave me (still gives me) no end of grief with regards to eating (and feeding). Her weight has always been low. Every other visit to the doctor would result in me having to find a way to get more food into her. She liked to hang around the 3rd percentile. I would constantly be asked if she was a premature baby. Nope, just small. Someone has to make up the bottom part of the curve!
When I finally decided to not be stubborn about exclusively breastfeeding, and tried to supplement with formula, she decided she no longer wanted eat from a bottle! Even starting her on solids didn't do much to improve her weight gain. As a two year old, she still doesn't eat very much. Mostly she'll eat a good breakfast, then I will be lucky if she eats lunch, and supper is usually out of the question.
I was given much advice on how to increase the caloric intake of my child. Supplementing my breastfeeding with formula was just the beginning. Despite the fact that breast milk is best, I apparently didn't make milk with much fat in it (although my son gained weight well from my breast milk). After we started feeding her solids, I was told to mix cream into her cereal, or add oil to her fruits and veggies.
Having a low weight as an infant is a concern for brain development, so you want to make sure your child is thriving. Being diagnosed with a child who "fails to thrive" is a big deal. Outside authorities can become involved. My daughter has been meeting her milestones despite having a low weight, which leads me to be a lot less concerned about her weight.
A few months ago, I started adding whipping cream to her 3.25% milk (yes, she is still drinking the high fat milk at almost three years old). The addition of the cream to her milk did not increase her weight. I have since come to the conclusion she has a super high metabolism, and she will not starve herself. If she is hungry, she will let me know. She eats broccoli, and asparagus, and hummus. She won't eat much meat at home, but eats most of her food at daycare. Go figure!
I read recently toddlers consume more than 50% of their calories before lunch. Dinner is often a time of socializing, not eating. So, don't stress if your child decides to just pick at his dinner plate. Make sure you have wholesome choices for your child to eat. If they refuse to eat the dinner you have make, don't become a "short order cook". This is how kids end up eating chicken nuggets and fries all the time. Just because a child won't eat the wholesome food one time doesn't mean they will never eat it.
My biggest annoyance of late is how Wonder Bread assumes children will not eat brown bread. My daughter eats all kinds of bread. We rarely have white bread in the house. She will eat the multi-grain bread, the seedy bread, the rye bread. We often have preconceived ideas of what our children will like.
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:
Provide small, frequent meals at regular times. Space meals and snacks at least 2 hours apart. Your child should have 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks throughout the day. Note, this doesn't mean they will eat at each of these meals or snacks, but give them the opportunity to do so.
Keep the length of meal times consistent. Offer the food again at the next planned meal or snack. Meals shouldn't be much longer that 30 to 45 minutes, 15 to 20 minutes for snacks.
Don't force your child to eat. Parents are responsible for providing nutritious foods. Your child will control the amount he or she wants to eat.
Avoid distractions at meal times. Turn off the TV, and eat at a dinner table. Eat as a family. Model good behaviour by eating and socializing with your children at meal times.
Don't cater to your child. Pair familiar favourites with new foods. Remember, it can take 10 to 20 times of offering a food before your child will "like" the food.
Kids change their likes and dislikes often. A food that was a favourite for the past week, might not be liked today. They could decide to eat only white food for a period of time. But, this too shall pass. Children will eventually tire of their favourite food, and move onto something else.
A favourite food isn't a bad thing. Just make sure it belongs to one of the food groups, and is nutritious and wholesome.
Want to share any of your feeding and eating woes? Feel free. Be sure to include any advice you might find useful.
My first child gave me (still gives me) no end of grief with regards to eating (and feeding). Her weight has always been low. Every other visit to the doctor would result in me having to find a way to get more food into her. She liked to hang around the 3rd percentile. I would constantly be asked if she was a premature baby. Nope, just small. Someone has to make up the bottom part of the curve!When I finally decided to not be stubborn about exclusively breastfeeding, and tried to supplement with formula, she decided she no longer wanted eat from a bottle! Even starting her on solids didn't do much to improve her weight gain. As a two year old, she still doesn't eat very much. Mostly she'll eat a good breakfast, then I will be lucky if she eats lunch, and supper is usually out of the question.
I was given much advice on how to increase the caloric intake of my child. Supplementing my breastfeeding with formula was just the beginning. Despite the fact that breast milk is best, I apparently didn't make milk with much fat in it (although my son gained weight well from my breast milk). After we started feeding her solids, I was told to mix cream into her cereal, or add oil to her fruits and veggies.
Having a low weight as an infant is a concern for brain development, so you want to make sure your child is thriving. Being diagnosed with a child who "fails to thrive" is a big deal. Outside authorities can become involved. My daughter has been meeting her milestones despite having a low weight, which leads me to be a lot less concerned about her weight.
A few months ago, I started adding whipping cream to her 3.25% milk (yes, she is still drinking the high fat milk at almost three years old). The addition of the cream to her milk did not increase her weight. I have since come to the conclusion she has a super high metabolism, and she will not starve herself. If she is hungry, she will let me know. She eats broccoli, and asparagus, and hummus. She won't eat much meat at home, but eats most of her food at daycare. Go figure!
I read recently toddlers consume more than 50% of their calories before lunch. Dinner is often a time of socializing, not eating. So, don't stress if your child decides to just pick at his dinner plate. Make sure you have wholesome choices for your child to eat. If they refuse to eat the dinner you have make, don't become a "short order cook". This is how kids end up eating chicken nuggets and fries all the time. Just because a child won't eat the wholesome food one time doesn't mean they will never eat it.
My biggest annoyance of late is how Wonder Bread assumes children will not eat brown bread. My daughter eats all kinds of bread. We rarely have white bread in the house. She will eat the multi-grain bread, the seedy bread, the rye bread. We often have preconceived ideas of what our children will like.
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:
Provide small, frequent meals at regular times. Space meals and snacks at least 2 hours apart. Your child should have 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks throughout the day. Note, this doesn't mean they will eat at each of these meals or snacks, but give them the opportunity to do so.
Keep the length of meal times consistent. Offer the food again at the next planned meal or snack. Meals shouldn't be much longer that 30 to 45 minutes, 15 to 20 minutes for snacks.
Don't force your child to eat. Parents are responsible for providing nutritious foods. Your child will control the amount he or she wants to eat.
Avoid distractions at meal times. Turn off the TV, and eat at a dinner table. Eat as a family. Model good behaviour by eating and socializing with your children at meal times.
Don't cater to your child. Pair familiar favourites with new foods. Remember, it can take 10 to 20 times of offering a food before your child will "like" the food.
Kids change their likes and dislikes often. A food that was a favourite for the past week, might not be liked today. They could decide to eat only white food for a period of time. But, this too shall pass. Children will eventually tire of their favourite food, and move onto something else.
A favourite food isn't a bad thing. Just make sure it belongs to one of the food groups, and is nutritious and wholesome.
Want to share any of your feeding and eating woes? Feel free. Be sure to include any advice you might find useful.
No comments:
Post a Comment