Does not eat properly. .
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Updated on Sep 10, 2015
My 2 n half year old daughter is not interested in eating food at all.. I have to force feed her all the time n rhymes are a must n should to keep her distracted through out the feeding. If I give her anything to eat, she either plays with it or crumbles it down but does not put even a bite in her mouth. I am really concerned on her eating skills. She is hyperactive and keeps playing all th day. Sometimes I get depressed that I am failing as a gud mother. She understands what we are speaking.. but does not act accordingly and the only language she knows is cry and get what she wants. I keep reading lot of stuff but nothing has helped me to tackle my stubborn Lil one. Please suggest.
| Sep 10, 2015
Hi Usha! I clearly understand what u r saying. Let's look at issues one by one. 1. Doesn't eat : at this age children want to exert their freedom but not disobey parents intentionally though it might seem so. Look for ways where both of u r happy and satisfied with the feeding time experience. Bring a little change in the style of cooking and serving. If u feel child loves to play and don't want to sit at a place, either try high chair option or give her food in such a manner she can hold it in her hand and have on her own. For ex roti roll with paneer cubes, sprouts, veggie stuffed in it and then served with a kitchen foil around, so that stuffing doesn't come out. Or coOK her choice meal in yr own interesting manner say Idli with two peas kernels as eyes, corn kernel as nose and carrot shredding as eyebrows and lips. This smiley would leave yr child with a smile on the face along with water in the mouth. Play a game where u pretend she is in school . Pack her lunch. Ask her to pretend it's lunchtime and she should show how she will have her food there. Similarly make other options interesting like pizza , noodles, pasta, etc. Use healthier ingredients such as tofu, sprouts ,paneer, egg , finely chopped veggies. Add variety,novelty, colour and a and serve her with tadka of love. Let her just guess whats inside the lunch box and be excited about opening it as there is always a surprise in it. At other times take her help in making dishes which involves cooking without fire. Such as sprouts and corn chaat, fruit salads, murmura chaat etc. let her take charge of stirring department. Dole out ample praise and love on successful attempt of tasting and saying' mumma I love it'!
| Sep 10, 2015
Usha in that case begin with step by step approach. Start with soft things first say banana, custard, kheer, soups, roti mashed in Dals or milk etc. She can be given in small spoons so that she doesn't choke herself. In between meals try giving her long pieces of home made french fries, home made long maida sticks( just 1 or 2) , steamed carrot , cucumber to make her learn how to bite and chew. Make sure u r around when she's given those pieces. You could demonstrate how to chew. You could also try giving her idli, upma , appam,as these are very soft or boiled rice mixed with curd,rice mixed with bowl of Dal. Gradually move on to thicker gravy as she gets comfortable with semi-solid food. when she has practiced chewing give her roti,dosa,uttapam, home made pizza, sandwiches etc. This step by step process should help her cover the distance from semi solid to solid food. This should help!
