Fussy feeding: baby see, baby do

This is a repost… at first I thought that simply posting the clipping will be OK; when I revisited the post and tried to print it, it wasn't printing well. I searched again for the article to have it posted in text form…

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HEALTH

By Eveline Gan, TODAY | Posted: 10 February 2009 0901 hrs

SINGAPORE: FOR several years, mealtimes with Muhammed Aidiel Fidaie were a recurring nightmare for his caregivers.

The fussy four-year-old would turn his nose at almost any kind of food that was offered to him. "He only ate whipped potato and chicken porridge. If you gave him anything else, he would spit it out," said his grandfather, Mr Bulad, who eventually had to resort to force-feeding the underweight Aidiel with a milk supplement.

Fussing about food, as in Aidiel's case, is quite a common phenomenon among toddlers, said paediatricians TODAY spoke to. And chances are, it has nothing to do with your cooking. Rather, your own negative eating habits may be why your toddler is rejecting food.

"Children are great imitators, and parents are their role models," said Dr Chua Mei Chien, a consultant at the department of neonatology at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH). She estimated that about 20 per cent of children under the age of five are picky about their food.

"If parents have unhealthy eating habits, or eat only certain types of food, it is difficult to expect their children to eat well and from all the food groups," she added.

Professor Ho Ting Fei, a consultant physiologist at Singapore Baby and Child Clinic, said: "Making mealtimes a pleasant experience also goes a long way in teaching children good eating habits, as compared with negative experiences like punishing children for making the wrong food choices or for not finishing the food on their plates."

While being choosy about food is often a passing phase in young children, this problem can sometimes persist in their teenage years and even adulthood, warned Dr Chua.

Plus, eating only a limited range of food can cause children to miss out on a healthy range of nutrients, minerals and vitamins required for proper growth.

While parents may wish to include all-in-one milk or vitamin supplements in their child's diet if he or she is underweight due to poor food intake, paediatricians stressed that these should not be treated as a substitute for a balanced diet.

"Taking supplements is not an optimal choice as certain nutrients are best absorbed when they exist in whole food, not supplements," said Prof Ho.

What's more important is dealing with the cause of food rejection, said Dr Chua.

To nip fussy eating in the bud, parents must set a good example by giving consistent advice in a positive way, advised Prof Ho.

"Reinforce the same message and introduce food that is rejected regularly in small portions. Secondly, increase the portions slowly. Lastly, do not give up," he said.

Aidiel, now 11, has since outgrown his extreme fussy eating habits with some help from his doctors at KKH, and plenty of patience from his grandfather and mother. "Slowly, we've been encouraging him to eat a wider variety of food," said Mr Bulad.

"We notice that Aidiel tends to eat better when we let him choose what he wants to eat and when he helps his mum prepare the meals. So, we try to make every meal a good experience for him."

- TODAY/yb

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