Pinoy Parenting Blog Carnival - Picky Eaters

The very late roundup.

Thinking of what our children eat uses up a lot of the mommy brain. Thinking of what to cook, how to cook them to cause less nutrients lost, how to present them in a creative way, how to get them in the child's mouth! Sometimes, after all our preparation of broccoli "trees" and green pea "slime soup," our little darlings just turn up their cute button noses and say "no, way!" What's a mom to do to get all the recommended daily nutrients into her baby's tummy?

Some children are slow eaters, Leah's little girl screams when she doesn't get food instantly. And most of our children, like Chris' 2 darlings, turn picky when they're a bit older, not when they are still babies. Jena learned to disguise fruits and vegetables in quiches and shakes to sneak them in their kid's daily food intake. Jigi is lucky that she and her husband know how to cook delicious and nutritious food for both their little children. Doc Joey is thankful that she has a yaya to help feed her son, as it takes him almost an hour to finish a meal. I have to hide in my room when it's time for my kid to eat, because she will not eat when I'm around.

For a baby just starting on solids, Emma learned new tricks on how to get him to open his mouth. Most moms realize that the best food for her baby is home-cooked food, with no preservatives and other icky stuff. For most toddlers, being picky about food is about asserting independence and personal choice. It is a continuation of the "No" phase.

Most moms are concerned about junk food, limiting chips and soda consumption. All are concerned with the sugar, carbohydrate, fat content of their child's diet. No mom likes to limit their child's intake, rather, most moms are actually worried that their kid does not eat enough. Pressure from the relatives come in the form of "Your child is too thin." But when the child is active and his growth charts show a steady increase in height and weight, there should be no cause for concern. Each child just has his own growth rate. You may find that a picky eater today will tomorrow become a member of the clean plate club.