You may already be aware that providing adequate nutrition is one of the factors that affect a child's growth and development. However, what if the child is still picky about food? This habit makes the child a picky eater.
So, what is a picky eater, and how can it be overcome? This article thoroughly discusses this picky eating phase. So, see the following complete information.
What Is a Picky Eater?
A picky eater is someone, whether a child or an adult, who has a habit of being finicky about their food. A picky eater will usually only consume foods that they like and is reluctant to eat those that they don't like.
Then, picky eaters generally don't want to try new foods or flavors, especially if the food does not contain ingredients that they like. In children, the picky eater phase typically occurs between the ages of 2 and 5 years, or in babies who are transitioning to the MPASI phase.
Some common signs that a child is a picky eater include closing their mouth when being fed, rebelling when not given their favorite foods, being lazy when eating, making excuses when it's time to eat, and refusing to eat certain types of food they dislike.
Picky eaters themselves are divided into 7 types based on their behavior, including:
- Color picky: Children only want to eat food that has the color they like.
- Regressor: Children suddenly become picky eaters at a certain age.
- Shape picky: Children only want to eat food with a specific shape.
- Taste picky: Children only like food that has no taste.
- Vomiters: Children often behave as if they're going to vomit by covering their mouths or vomiting up food when eating.
- Drinking enthusiasts: Children only like to drink and don't want to eat.
- Texture tasters: Children often prefer not to eat food with a particular texture.
Although it is a phase in a child's growth, this habit needs to be addressed immediately because children need sufficient nutrition to grow and develop properly.
Additionally, always ensure your child maintains a sufficient fluid intake to prevent dehydration by drinking AQUA. AQUA has a cold sensation, even though it is not chilled, because it is made from 100% pure mountain water.
Not only that, AQUA also contains natural minerals from selected and protected mountains without any additional substances. So, even though your child is often picky about food, don't let their nutrition and fluid intake be hampered, okay!
Causes of Children Becoming Picky Eaters
The phase of being picky about food is indeed a problem for parents. To overcome this, it is essential to understand the causes of picky eating. Here are some reasons why children are picky eaters:
1. Irregular Eating Patterns
Irregular eating patterns can also contribute to children developing picky eating habits. This condition is typically found in toddlers who consume snacks more frequently than heavy meals. As a result, when it's time to eat, the child is already full from snacks.
To overcome this, you can regulate your child's eating patterns, for example, 3 main meal times and 2 healthy snack meals.
2. Children Are Not Hungry
The next cause of picky eaters is that the child is still full, for example, because they have eaten snacks or drunk too much milk. As a result, the child is reluctant to eat or only wants to eat certain foods.
3. Imitating Parents' Habits
Children often imitate the actions of their parents or the environment around them. So, when they see their parents being picky about food, they can imitate them.
To overcome this, guide them while they eat, be patient with their eating speed, and model good eating behavior.
4. Not Interested or Bored with Their Food
The following reason is that children may not be interested in or find the food given unappetizing. For example, your cooking may not have an appetizing appearance for children, or they have consumed the same food too often.
In this case, as a parent, you must be more creative by offering a more interesting and varied menu. If you want to serve the same ingredients, make sure to vary the presentation of the food.
How to Deal with Picky Eaters
After understanding the causes of children becoming picky eaters, you need to know how to address them. Although coping with it is not easy, you can apply the following tips to deal with picky eaters:
1. Eat with Children
As previously explained, children can imitate their parents' actions. Therefore, you can model good eating behavior by eating with your child and showing that you finish and like the food to your child.
2. Serve Interesting Food Variations
If the problem of picky eaters is due to boredom or a lack of interest in the food served, try to create the food in a way that makes it more appealing, for example, by making it colorful or uniquely shaped.
However, ensure that the portion given is sufficient so that the child still receives optimal nutrition for their growth and development.
3. Make a Meal Schedule
A regular meal schedule can improve children's eating patterns. Additionally, this schedule prevents you from giving too much milk or snacks between heavy meals.
That's the information about what picky eaters are in children and how to deal with them. The picky eating phase is indeed a challenge for parents, but ensure your child still receives a balanced diet to support their growth and development.
Then, ensure that the family has access to AQUA Gallons at home to meet their drinking water needs. With a large capacity of 19 liters, the price of AQUA is very affordable, starting from IDR 1,000 per liter.
Most importantly, the cleanliness of the AQUA gallon is also maintained, as it is sanitized up to 20 times using high-pressure water before being refilled. Not only that, AQUA Gallons are refillable, allowing them to be used multiple times, making them more environmentally friendly.
So, why AQUA DULU? Because not all water is AQUA. AQUA comes from selected mountains whose water sources are protected through 9 selection criteria, 5 stages, and at least 1 year of research on more than 600 parameters.
Then, AQUA is naturally filtered by layers of rocks rich in natural minerals and processed without human intervention, undergoing 400 stages of quality testing before being sent through the distribution network.
AQUA also protects the sustainability of water resources by returning water to the ecosystem and increasing access to clean water for the people of Indonesia.
AQUA is an Indonesian product that is safe to consume, Halal-certified, and produced following the Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (BPOM) and Indonesian National Standards (SNI). AQUA is 100% Pure, 100% Indonesian, and 100% Halal.
