Parents and caregivers have a significant impact on helping children establish positive attitudes towards food and develop healthy eating habits. It’s not just about the food they eat, but also about how they eat.
During meals and snacks, parents should take charge of the food choices, timing, and location, while allowing children to determine how much they eat. By establishing and respecting these roles, children can develop good eating habits and enjoy meal times.
It is important to introduce a wide variety of nutritious foods to children at a young age to help them develop healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime. In addition to the foods mentioned above, it is also beneficial to include:
- Dairy alternatives (such as almond milk, coconut milk, or soy milk)
- Healthy fats (avocado, nuts, seeds, olive oil)
- Herbs and spices (such as garlic, ginger, cinnamon, or turmeric)
- Superfoods (like chia seeds, flaxseeds, acai berries, or kale)
By offering a variety of nutrient-dense foods, children can explore new tastes and textures while getting the essential vitamins and minerals they need for growth and development.
Providing Healthy Beverages
Offering healthy beverages to children is essential for their growth and development. Breastmilk is the best option for infants, providing all the necessary nutrients they need. For older children, whole cow’s milk is a great source of calcium and vitamin D.
After age 2, you can introduce different types of milk such as skim, 1%, 2%, or fortified soy beverage. However, it’s important to limit the consumption of milk or soy beverage to mealtimes, up to 3 cups daily. Water should be offered between meals to keep children hydrated.
Avoiding sugary drinks like soda, fruit juice, and flavored milk is crucial to prevent health issues such as obesity and tooth decay. Providing unsweetened beverages will help children develop a preference for healthier options like water and plain milk.
Understanding Children’s Food Needs
Children’s food requirements vary depending on their age, activity level, growth rate, and appetite. Offer 3 meals and 2-3 snacks evenly spaced throughout the day. Avoid constant snacking to help children recognize their hunger and fullness cues.
Encourage your child to listen to their body’s hunger and fullness cues, and serve appropriate portion sizes. Offer a variety of healthy foods to provide essential nutrients for growth and development.
Make mealtimes enjoyable by creating a calm and positive atmosphere. Avoid negative comments about food or using food as a reward or punishment. Instead, focus on the social aspect of eating together as a family.
Use mealtime as an opportunity to teach good manners and table etiquette. Encourage conversation and bonding by asking open-ended questions and sharing stories during meals. This helps create a positive association with food and promotes healthy eating habits in the long run.
It’s important to remember that food rejection is a normal part of a child’s development. It may take multiple exposures to a new food before a child is willing to try it. Encourage your child to at least try a small bite of the new food, but don’t force them to finish it if they truly don’t like it.
Offering a variety of foods is key to ensuring your child gets a balanced diet. Keep offering new and different foods, even if they have been rejected before. Children’s taste preferences can change over time, so what they didn’t like yesterday, they may enjoy today.
Seeking Professional Advice
If you have concerns about your child’s food intake or growth, consult a registered dietitian by calling 8-1-1.
Many healthy children between the ages of one and five may refuse to eat at times, which is normal. Unrealistic expectations from parents can lead to unnecessary worry. Talking to a healthcare provider about your child’s eating habits and growth can provide reassurance and guidance.
Keywords: Picky eating, Poor eating, Refusal to eat, Toddler, Unrealistic parental expectations
Professional Support for Feeding Issues
Pediatricians and family physicians can play a vital role in helping parents understand and address feeding issues in children. It is important for parents to communicate any concerns they may have about their child’s eating habits or nutrition to their healthcare provider.
Most children described as picky eaters have appropriate appetites for their age and growth stage. However, if feeding issues persist or if a child’s growth is affected, it is important to seek professional help. A healthcare provider can assess the child’s nutritional status, identify any underlying issues, and provide guidance on how to address feeding challenges.
Respecting Children’s Food Choices
Parental expectations regarding a child’s growth can sometimes lead to misunderstandings about normal eating habits. It’s crucial to acknowledge and respect children’s autonomy when it comes to food choices and intake.
While young children may initially reject new foods, they can learn to accept them over time with repeated exposure.
Excessive consumption of certain beverages or sweets may replace nutrient-dense foods and contribute to appetite issues in children.
Food refusal might sometimes be a cry for attention or a reflection of parent-child relationship problems. The family environment can impact a child’s dietary intake.
Negative feeding practices like threats, scolding, or bribing can decrease food intake. Positive reinforcement, such as verbal encouragement, is more effective in shaping healthy eating habits.
Children often imitate family members and peers in their food preferences. Modeling healthy eating habits within the family and peer group can encourage children to try a variety of foods.
The atmosphere during mealtime plays a significant role in a child’s eating behavior. Providing positive guidance and practicing patience is essential, while distractions and conflicts can have a negative influence.
Recognizing Normal Food Intake
A comprehensive history can help determine if a child’s food refusal is due to physiological reasons or an organic cause. Parents should avoid having unrealistic expectations about their child’s food consumption.
Encouraging Healthy Eating Habits
Parents should understand that a decrease in appetite can be normal for children, who should decide how much they eat. Structured meals and snacks, along with flexibility in food preferences, are key to promoting healthy eating habits in children.
Offering small portions, limiting excessive snacks, and creating a pleasant mealtime environment can help promote healthy eating habits in children.
This document has been reviewed by the CPS Community Paediatrics Committee.
CPS NUTRITION AND GASTROENTEROLOGY COMMITTEE
Members: Dana L Boctor MD; Jeffrey N Critch MD (Chair); Manjula Gowrishankar MD; Daniel Roth MD; Sharon L Unger MD; Robin C Williams MD (Board Representative)
Liaisons: Jatinder Bhatia MD, American Academy of Pediatrics; Genevieve Courant NP, MSc, The Breastfeeding Committee for Canada; A George F Davidson MD, Human Milk Banking Association; Tanis Fenton, Dietitians of Canada; Jennifer McCrea, Health Canada; Jae Hong Kim MD (past member); Lynne Underhill MSc, Bureau of Nutritional Sciences, Health Canada
Principal authors: Alexander KC Leung MD, Valérie Marchand MD (past Chair), Reginald S Sauve MD
The recommendations provided in this document do not prescribe a singular course of treatment or procedure. All Canadian Paediatric Society position statements and practice points are routinely reviewed.
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- Study on eating behavior of children born preterm
- Effect of exposure on food preferences of two-year-old children
- Review on fruit juice consumption by infants and children
- Excess fruit juice consumption and nonorganic failure to thrive
- Family environment and family member food intake relationship
- Behavioral marker of picky eaters in toddlers
- Identification and management of problem eaters
- Effects of eating as a means activity on food preferences in children
- Variability and self-regulation of energy intake in young children
- Guidelines to help toddlers eat well
- Preventing common feeding problems in infants and young children
- Reasons behind toddlers’ eating habits
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