Submitted by Palme Sonia

Photo by kazuend on Unsplash

This is one of the many anthems that all moms sing on a daily basis. I have seen mommies begging, dancing and yelling at the little ones just to have another little bite. I have myself been there and done that. Have I stopped now? Absolutely Not.

I have a two-year-old son who can give Feviquick a run for money when he has to shut his mouth tight and refuse my pleas for another morsel. That's how it started, so obviously I tried to find a way around it. Little one accepted the challenge and then the next trick was to shake his head in disagreement.  Fought my way through that, the next you know he would just spit the food out. I am so sure most of us have been there. We lose our cool, they lose their appetite and before you know the place is even messy.

I went through this on a daily basis - with no help at all , food time was a nightmare. Pushing me to a breakdown, I would lose my temper but you can't really shower it on the kids. I had gone to drop my son to his playgroup and this was the best piece of advice I have received and yes it worked for me.  It came from the Playgroup owner, a lovely woman and believe me she understood kids so well. She also has a TO DO LIST that I would love to share,

The Advice

• Whatever happens, however agitated you are do not show it to your child. The vibe passes on

• Food is an experience, do not make a task that has to be done by you or your child

• He/She is a child - their appetite is not as much as yours is

• Not all children are alike - your kid is going to be like you, GENES play a big role

• Do not compare your kiddo, he/she is one in a million and you know it

• It’s not an easy job and you need to be patient and have to toil a lil extra if she/he is extremely fussy

 Now how do we get there. This is a process ladies and gentlemen, it will take time. Let’s your kids observe and give them that space to inculcate that value in them. This could take more than 10 days for the signs to show up.

 The Practical Advice

• First of all prepare yourself, feeding a fussy eater is a time consuming process. Please keep that in mind and proceed. Do not push your child to eat quickly or as per your convenience. You will be more relaxed when you know that this will take time

• Introduce your child to variety - do not feed the kid the same version often. E.g. :If your planning to give potatoes - try it in various forms- paratha, cutlet,fry,mash

• You may try changing flavors completely like from Indian to Italian

• Eat at least one meal together as a family - I can't emphasize enough on this. They are observing you. During this time, you eat yourself and let him help himself

• Give the child the same plate like you are using. Not the very fancy one with spider man on it - I believe that they like to be treated equally

• Understand portion size - Do not go over board and give small portion size

• Like any of us there are days that the child might not feel like eating as much - please give him a break and give him juice or may be just as much as she is ready to take

• There are many recipes online for making food more interesting - make homemade nuggets, wraps, sandwiches, let's experiment Mommies!

•  If you feel like there is something absolutely wrong - or you feel uneasy - please visit the Pediatric

• There are going to be things that your child like - its okay if you are going to rumble around the same ingredients for a few days. Keep a check on the nutrient value

• Get equally excited when you get an Apple for your Kids as you get while buying an Ice cream

This was my way of working through the FOOD WAR, have I won? Can’t say . But this definitely put my mind at ease and made the struggle a little less challenging. If this helps you please share it with all those moms out there.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mom Store

About the Author:

Palme Sonia is a mother to a two-year-old who currently works from home. I played around with Journalism, Marketing, Sales etc and by far have found being Mommy the most Tiring and the most rewarding job. I would love to discuss my journey as a parent the ups and downs both with fellow mommies. Hope you have fun reading my experiences!