I have come across many parents complaining about food habits of their children. More commonly the complaints are as follows. Children take long time to eat, they just don’t ask for food, they prefer eating junk foods, chocolates etc. they are averse to eat healthy food such as green leafy vegetables, fruits, milk, and children don’t make fuss in eating spicy, hot food from hotels. Here are some tips to improve food habits of your children.

  • Involve your children in your cooking activities e.g. accompany them to purchase vegetables, let them pick the vegetables. In weekends let them help you arranging vegetables in refrigerator, ask them to wash. Give them easy tasks in kitchen such as stirring chutneys, salads, and lemonades. Praise them for their cooking. Develop their interest in food handling and making.
  • Take help of some books or charts and make them understand the benefits of eating healthy homemade food. Using same technique, tell them bad effects of junk food on the body.
  • There are many cookery shows on television channels. Watching them along with kids helps them increase their interest in food. It also increases their appetite.
  • Children love mother’s company by sitting near kitchen platform. Ask them to taste first bite and give their opinion about dish. Make them feel important.
  • Children love to imitate parents. Try to improve your food habits if they are faulty.
  • Try to improve your cooking and take interest in it if you are not a good cook.
  • Try to improve presentation while serving fruits to children. Make attractive fruit dishes, shakes, toppings etc. and serve them in colorful containers.
  • Eating green leafy vegetables is the last choice of most kids. Making tasty palak (spinach), methi  (fenugreek), rajgeera (amaranth) parathas will solve your problem. Try cooking dishes out of green leafy vegetables, which are of less irritating taste. Eg. Palak paneer, palak khichadi, thalipeeth(thick roti made of various flours, onion, leafy vegetables and seasoning), Dosas with veggies, Idli or noodles are the dishes that can be used to  make your little ones eat leafy vegetables without any fuss .
  • Try innovative approach to make your child eat healthy food.
  • Sight of food, smell of food stimulates secretion of digestive juices in the body which helps in digestion of food, so avoid letting your children eat food while watching television.
  • Inculcate discipline in children. Show some strictness when you want to do them the right thing.
  • Involve kids while deciding menu at birthday parties. Ask for their help. In weekends try to have atmosphere and arranging table like in restaurants. Kids love such fun. Stimulate their creativity by doing salad decoration, baking along with them. Let them understand that homemade food can be more interesting and healthy than hotel food.