Is your child a picky eater? If yes, you must break such eating habits in your child at the earliest as it can cause trouble to him or her in the long run. Find some tips for breaking picky habits in children right here.Picky eating is a major cause of malnutrition in children. Often parents think that once children grow up they will eventually learn to eat properly. Sadly, it is not the case. Once children become
picky eaters, they will remain so for the rest of their lives.
Picky eating means children do not eat all the foods that are necessary for the growth and development of their body and mind. They prefer outside food, which is fine once in a while but regular consumption of such food items can be taxing to their health. Preparing meals for them must be giving you a headache each day as the list of things they eat is puny. Before the situation gets worse, you must break their habit. Here are some effective methods.
Add Some Spice
Sometimes the main reason that your child is a picky eater is that the food cooked at home is not appetizing enough to appeal to their taste buds. Kids like food that looks and smells attractive. If a dish is full of colour the kids are more likely to find it more appealing than some brown curry.
Also, adding some sauce or spices to the food can make it tasty for your kid. If the home cooked food is tangy or has tasty sauces in it, chances are your kid will happily eat it without causing much fuss. Add a zing to the food, doll it up with colourful
vegetables to please your kid.
Involve Them in Cooking
It is a good idea to ask your kids to help you in cooking. All kids love to get involved in the kitchen. You can easily find
recipes that are for kids and are easy-to-make. Once they do it themselves and realise the effort given in cooking, they will appreciate your hard work more. Also if they make something themselves, they will definitely eat it. Cooking will make them eat the food they did not eat because they thought it is bad.
Eat Meals Together
Kids when left alone with their food are bound to eat less. They try to eat as fast as possible and get done with the meal and go out to play or watch TV. There is a reason our ancestors ate along the table together. Eating together will remove the monotony they feel. Talk to them during the meal, ask them about their day. Tell stories to them while they eat. This will distract them and they will eat whatever you put on their plates without a fuss.
Make Eating Rules
At times, you need to put down some rules to improve your child’s habits. The first rule is to have fixed time for
breakfast, lunch and dinner. This will make your kid come and sit down at the table at particular times to eat the meal. Also if your child is a slow eater, do not ask them to rush. If your children like to sit and eat their food in leisure, it is nothing harmful, it actually benefits digestion. This will ensure that your children will eat all that is served to them on the plate.
Try to restrict the amount of
snack consumption. It fills up your kid before meals and they eat less.
Cook Your Children’s Favourites
Your kid must have some favourites. Instead of making them eat the same boring food, cook the things they love. It will appease your kids and they will eat even normal meals.
Exercising these will ensure that your kid eats the required amount of food. Eating less or being picky is harmful for growing kids. It will also cause trouble for them in the long run.
What are the causes of picky eating habits in children? How to break picky eating habits in children? Why is it necessary to break picky eating habits in children as early as possible? Discuss here. 
