IF you have a child who is a picky eater, the back-to-school season can be a challenge when they are at school and you cannot monitor them.
Vanessa Clarke, a KwaZulu-Natal registered dietitian and a spokesperson for the Association of Dietetics in South Africa, said the key was to educate children more about better eating habits.
“Children have to learn to eat just like they have to learn to read or ride a bike. Contrary to popular belief, it is not something that comes naturally and can take time. This can often lead to children being labelled as 'picky' or 'fussy'.
“Picky eating often occurs as a result of a child’s normal development as they are unfamiliar or unsure of new foods and need time to explore or become comfortable with foods.”
Key things to help manage picky eating:
* Keep offering and exposing them to new foods so they can become more comfortable with them. It takes the average child 17 to 20 times to accept a new food.
* Involve them in food preparation or lunchbox making as much as possible. This is to get them to touch, smell, play and interact with the food.
* Encourage messy play with food outside meal times.
* Try not to force, bribe or coax your child to eat as this takes away the fun of mealtimes and does not allow the child time to become familiar and explore new foods in their own time
* Always offer a new food with a food they are comfortable and will probably eat. Never offer them a plate of all new foods all one time.
* Try to limit distractions at mealtimes, such as the radio or TV, as this can overload their senses. Using an egg timer can help to encourage them to sit down at a table for short periods.
Supplementary shakes
Clarke said that while there were supplementary shakes one could get from the supermarket and chemist, parents should be aware of the holistic content and effect of using them.
“While supplementary shakes can help with boosting vitamin and mineral intake, they can often be very calorie-dense.
“They can fill up a child, preventing them from being willing to try new foods and hence, further exacerbate picky eating. These shakes should only be used under the supervision of a dietitian or qualified medical professional.
"A dietitian can help address a child’s diet and ensure they are meeting all their nutritional requirements, even with a limited diet.”
Lunchboxes
With time always being a challenge during back-to-school and work season, Clarke said meal prepping for school could help.
“Sandwiches are a great option for a lunchbox. Be sure to use bread high in fibre (contains more than 6g of fibre per 100g). Good options for sandwich fillers are peanut butter, almond butter, cheese or cream cheese, egg/chicken or tuna mayo, roast chicken with avo, chicken and pesto, baked beans or hummus
“Good ideas for snacks are dairy options such as unsweetened yoghurt and cheese slices or cubes, home-made popcorn which can be stored in an airtight container, boiled eggs, biltong, trail mix, fruit or chopped fruit and veg sticks and chicken drumsticks.”
She said the concern with processed meats was the level of sodium and saturated fat they contained.
“They should not be offered daily but can be included in moderation. Processed meats such as sliced sandwich chicken and ham tend to be lower in saturated fat than polony, viennas and salami so these are better options to offer.”
She said water should always be the first option for a child’s lunchbox to support their hydration needs.
“The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages such as cordials, fizzy drinks or juices have been strongly linked to increasing the risk for childhood obesity as well as dental cavities.
“While sugar provides our children with energy, it doesn’t offer any other nutritional benefit. It is recommended that children should have no more than six tablespoons of added sugar a day with some beverages having 7 to 9 tablespoons of sugar per cup. 100% fruit juice should be limited to no more than half a cup (125ml) a day.”
Clarke said making food fun could help in enticing children to try new foods.
“You don’t necessarily have to make fancy designs to make it fun as sometimes this can overwhelm the children or can cause sensory overload.”
She suggested these fun tips for lunchboxes or mealtimes:
* Offer the same foods in different ways such as carrot rounds, carrot sticks or julienne strips.
* Kids often love to dip, so adding a little dipping sauce to their lunchbox such as dipping apple slices into peanut butter or cucumber sticks into tzatziki.
* Use toothpicks to make little kebabs with fruit or cheese cubes.
* Cut their sandwich into the shape of the initial of their name.
* Wrap food items in tin foil and make little shapes using the tin foil.
* Roll up sandwiches into pinwheels.
* Use fun colourful cupcake or muffin liners to serve the food.
* Serve their snacks in the different compartments of a muffin tray as a snack platter.
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