In our culture, cooking for the child and hand-feeding pre-schoolers (and sometimes even children till the age of eight years or so) is seen as an act of demonstrating love. We go to any lengths to feed children — playing the same cartoons repeatedly, taking the child outside to show some interesting sights; basically doing anything that will distract the child from the conscious ‘task’ of eating.
Additionally, as Dr. Yamuna, a leading paediatrician and adolescent physician in Chennai points out, the fact that parenting is becoming increasingly child-centric has actually led us to focus on the child’s likes and dislikes when it comes to food, rather than on nutrition or healthy eating!
Dr. Mythili Rangan, a paediatrician practising in the United States with over three decades of experience, shares her point of view on what could possibly lead to more fussy eating habits in Indian children. “In India, the influence of grandparents on children’s eating habits is high. Grandparents are more likely to give in to unreasonable demands establishing poor feeding habits early on in life. Also, some Indian families snack a lot; offering the child snacks at unscheduled meal times and carrying snacks for the child even for short trips, kills appetite for the actual meal! In many Indian households the practice of cooking something for the child if she does not eat the regular meal is widely prevalent and this can perpetuate poor eating habits.”
What makes children fussy eaters?
Denying independence
This story is from the March - April 2021 edition of ParentEdge.
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This story is from the March - April 2021 edition of ParentEdge.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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