Is your child a picky eater?

For many parents, a child that is picky when eating or refuses eating all together can give a headache. It is even worse if the child is neither breast feeding nor taking any milk formula. No matter how tasty the food is, some children refuse to eat. Dumase Zgambo-Mapemba writes from experience and with the help of several sources both local and international.

Five years ago, when my daughter developed a picky eating habit, I learnt from a paeditrician that most children become fussy eaters once they are a year old and above.

Apparently, despite being very active, babies do not feel they need much food.

Suddenly, my daughter could not even eat her favourite phala whose flour I made by combining maize, rice and groundnuts.

Apart from that she barely ate normal meals such as nsima or rice.

After several visits to her paediatrician and a few bottles of multivitamin syrup, there was zero change.

Unfortunately, she had to attain the age of five for us to see a change.

But there could be other reasons

If your baby is teething, its gums may be sore most of the times. As a result, the child may only want to eat something cold or hard. Try to give such children cold yoghurt or let them chew on a cold cloth (if you do not have a teething soother) before meals.

Anxiety, change of school or home environment, child minders apart from illness, among others, may play a role. But here is how we can try to help the child.

Involve them in food preparation

Try to involve your toddler in the cooking or food preparation chores such as washing fruits or vegetables. It seems that most children would want to eat what they have helped to prepare.

Be creative with their favourite food

Try to give them their favourite food differently. For instance, if they love milk, then add a small amount of fruit to make a milkshake. Gradually use a variety of fruits. If they love rice, try offering the white or brown one. You can even make porridge with butter or nsinjiro with rice.

Let them eat nutritious nsima

Some kids don’t like nsima. So long as it’s not made from ufa oyera, you need to encourage them to eat with their favourite ndiwo. Eventually, it will come naturally to them.

Vegetables and fruits

Keep trying to offer them different types of fruits and vegetables until you find their favourite. Most fruits and 100 percent juices enhance appetite.