Is your child choosy when it comes to food?

4 min read


Image by Dt. Anjali Khandale

Kids are choosy and, as they grow older, it becomes more difficult to convince them to eat certain foods, even tougher to have them eat all varieties of foods. Generally, kids get attracted to colorful and different things each time – whether it is food, toys, or whatever else. If you ask them to have fruits, they will immediately refuse; but when you ask them to have a pizza, they will readily have it with excitement, no chance of refusing at all.

And now, due to the pandemic situation, it’s a bit tougher to manage work and maintain balanced nutrition for the family, especially kids. As they are growing, giving them proper nutrition and immunity, becomes a priority of every parent. It is very challenging in these tough times to ensure that your kid’s growth is not hindered, or that their education or learning does not go for a toss.

Here is what you can do

None of us like things to be forced upon us such as doing some work or even eating. The same is the case with kids. We can force them once or twice, but not always. Therefore, we should make eating interesting for them.

Children learn things by seeing what others do, especially parents. So, keep a healthy environment at home, practice healthy eating habits, and talk about the benefits of whatever food you are eating. Ask your kid about that food when you eat it again. It will be interesting for them and they will eat it with much excitement when they get to know of the benefits.

Try kitchen gardening with your kids, teach them to sow seeds in a pot, to water the plants daily, and tell them the importance of every plant and food. This will kindle interest in them towards eating all vegetables and fruits. Take their help while planning for kitchen gardening such as to fill the pots with soil 0 with bare hands, no need for gloves – let them play in the mud. Yes – you heard it right. This is because bacteria from the nails enter the intestine and act as food for your gut bacteria. Don’t worry – they will not get any infection – just have them wash their hands. I don’t know if you are aware of this but, due to urbanization we have fewer parks and there is no or very little open ground for kids to play. Everything is digital and, even when they play in a park, they don’t touch the mud. Hence, our kids are low on immunity. Look at the kids in rural areas, or look back on your childhood, you never used a hand-wash. We are living in an era where a mud box is available online and parents are ordering that and making their children play in the mud for some time (those who got to know the benefits of the microorganisms).

If your kid is above 4 years, take his/her help to peel and chop vegetables. If you are scared that they will harm themselves, give them a blunt knife and keep them busy in such activities. Once you’ve prepared the food, tell everyone in the family that your child has helped you in chopping the veggies. They will be excited when there are acknowledgement and praise for their efforts, and they may even start liking the food.

Explain to your kids the difference between unhealthy and healthy, and why healthy can be tasty as well. Make finger chips of carrot and beetroot – shallow-fry them, or boil the sweet potato/potato, and if they like sauces or ketchup, then make instant tomato sauce to accompany the chips.

Make the food look colorful by garnishing it in a different way every time. If you are making them eat fruits, cut them in different shapes, and ask them to identify the shape before eating it, it will be an interesting eating experience for them.

Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels

Finally, every day, your child should have three main meals and three-four short meals [healthy snacks like puffed rice or rice flakes chiwda, dried fruits, seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, flaxseeds, etc.] and cold-pressed juices like lemonade, sweet-lime juice, or a bowl of a variety of fruits, etc.

Try these with your kid(s) with your choosy child and let us know if these worked.

Thank you,

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Author

Dt. Anjali Khandale (M.Sc., Nutrition & Dietetics)


 *Disclaimer: The diet plans, remedies, and other health-related suggestions published on this website are a collation of information on directions and advice from experts (dietitians and others) provided by the respective expert mentioned as the author of an article and, as such, are sourced from reliable and competent sources. However, both the experts themselves as well as the site owners/promoters request readers to consult their family doctor/physician before using the information on this site and also to exercise caution as necessary. By visiting this site and, by virtue of accessing any information from the site, site users indemnify, by default, the site owners/promoters, dietitians, experts, and affiliates, of any potential damage caused (in any form whatsoever). 


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