Fussy eating isi quite common among children. They may complain about the taste, colour or texture of certain foods and simply refuse to eat them. For most parents, this is a difficult situation as it limits the nutrient sources that can be included in the child’s diet. A kids health drink is the best option for you in this case. Let us take a look at why your child needs a healthy drink regularly if he or she is a fussy eater.
The Traits of Fussy Eaters
Fussy eaters demonstrate some classic behaviour patterns as mentioned below:
- They do not accept a range of foods, commonly fruit, vegetables and meat.
- They are unwilling to try new foods.
- They tend to examine food carefully before eating it.
- Certain textures, tastes, colours and smells are most disliked by them.
- Food presentation plays an important role in their decision whether to eat the food or not.
- They tend to keep the food in their mouth for a long time.
- They would rather not eat than eat something that they dislike.
- Mealtimes are their least favourite time of the day.
- They may show anxiety or even have meltdowns during mealtime.
- Avoid socialising or going out of their home (For example, sleepovers) because of the fear of what food will be served.
- The range of food preferences becomes narrower.
- They tend to worry about not liking some food and carry this thought into their adulthood.
The main concern when your child depicts such behaviour is possible nutritional deficiencies. Since the type of food that they consume is limited, you also have fewer options to balance their meal well each day.
Why Kids Health Drinks Are Recommended
For parents with fussy eaters, health drinks are a god-sent for various reasons:
- The texture can be changed: By adding nuts or oats, you can give the drink some crunch. You can change the consistency of the drink easily to match your child’s preference.
- These drinks are tasty: You get several flavours that your child can choose from. These flavours also have a pleasant smell, making the drink easily acceptable to the child.
- They don’t have to put in an effort to consume them: All they have to do is drink a glass of the health drink in order to get a good load of nutrients.
- You can make the drink interesting: Add your child’s favourite berries to the drink, serve it in a nice glass with a loopy straw or make it look like their favourite dessert by adding some whipped cream or toppings to the drink.
The Benefits of Health Drinks for Kids
While we know that health drinks are palatable to your child and are also accepted fairly easily, here is why they should be a part of your child’s diet:
- Loaded with nutrients: Health drinks come with several nutrients like protein, calcium, electrolytes and vitamins that are vital for the child during the developing years. They also ensure that your little one is active throughout the day and receives proper nutrition without any fuss.
- Versatile: As mentioned above, the scope of experimentation with health drinks is unlimited. From preparing thick and delicious drinks to adding some of the powder to baked goodies, you can try various options to make it more interesting for your little one.
- Convenient: Health drinks can be prepared easily by simply adding the powder to milk to prepare a tasty and thick drink.
- Age-based preparations: Each drink is prepared specially to suit a specific age group. This ensures that the consumption of various nutrients is well-regulated. While underconsumption gets all the attention when it comes to fussy eaters, overconsumption of certain nutrients can be equally dangerous.
Tips to Handle Fussy Eating
Parents are often troubled by fussy eating as it is very restrictive on the child’s diet. The good news is that it is a relatively easy issue to manage if you start at an early age. Here are some useful tips:
- Encourage independence: The main reason for fussy eating among children is that they are still exploring and learning about different types of foods. Give your child the independence to choose from their preferred foods, while adding similar variants to the list. For instance, if your child loves pizza, try a healthy wheat chappati with toppings that your child likes.
- Make mealtime fun: Play games, give them some perks for finishing their meal or try socialising your child during their mealtime. You can have friends over from time to time or even have a fun family meal together. There may be some spills and mess when you do this. But, acknowledge it as part of the learning process.
- Try different tactics to introduce new foods: On average, fussy eaters need to see the same food on a plate 10-15 times in order to try it out. So introducing new foods at different times of the day is a great idea. Give them the new food in increments instead of forcing them to gobble up a full portion. Lastly, make the food attractive.
- Avoid punishments: If children begin to associate mealtime with punishments, it is never a pleasant experience for them. Instead, when your child refuses to eat a certain food, calmly take it away from them. Then use the tactics mentioned above to reintroduce the food differently.
Fussy eating is only an issue when it begins to compromise your child’s health. This is when you should let a professional intervene. It helps to maintain a food diary to understand your little one’s preferences more clearly.
However, it might be quite settling for you to know that the growth cycle of a child has a huge impact on the appetite. Although it may seem like they have suddenly started eating less or trying to avoid food, it could be a part of the development process.
Fussy eating is hard to figure out, no doubt. Take your time with it. In the meantime, try Gritzo Supermilk. It is a specially formulated kids health drink based on the nutritional requirements of various age groups and comes in creamy and delicious flavours that your little one will love.