Winning the food fight -herald sun article
thought id share this article that was in the herald sun yesterday!!
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STRESSED parents are going into battle every mealtime with children who refuse food.
Dieticians say the number of children fussy about what they eat has more than doubled in the past decade, forcing many parents to admit they resort to bribery or add sugar to get their child to eat.
With a link between learning to chew and developing speech, parents are seeking professional help to conquer the kitchen nightmares.
Dietician Kate Di Prima says parents feel they are largely to blame, but there is always a reason children refuse food.
In her latest book, More Peas Please: Solutions for Feeding Fussy Eaters, Ms Di Prima and speech pathologist Dr Julie Cichero reveal the top reasons children refuse food and what parents can do to win over their fussy kids.
It is the first book explaining to parents how children chew and swallow, and the psychological reasons behind food aversion.
In researching the book, the pair found 79 per cent of parents were stressed at meal times, a quarter admitted to bribing their child to eat food and a quarter reported their child refused to eat slimy or textured food.
In more than a decade of practice, Ms Di Prima said she had seen older children who didn't eat dinner being given bottle formula to take to bed as a meal replacement, parents who hide vegetables in sweet foods and children who are scared of food after a bad experience.
She said many problems stemmed from children being left on pureed food for too long or being given only bland foods, leading to poor chewing skills.
Ms Di Prima said many children could also be uninterested in food because they were constipated or mealtimes were too late.
"Adults have a window to eat of 20 minutes - for children they are only hungry for seven minutes," she said.
Mother Rachel Joseph, 33, said her son, Luke, 2, ate breakfast, but wouldn't touch any lunch or dinner. "He used to eat really well and now I can't get any vegetables into him at all," she said.
More Peas Please examines six types of fussy eaters, advising that parents must return to basics and reteach their children chewing and swallowing skills.
Some of the problems parents face include:
Mouth stuffer
These children love food and can't get enough. They stuff their mouths full and then realise they can't manage so spit it out in a sticky mess. Their chewing skills are insufficiently developed and they don't have the bite strength to cut food. Dr Cichero says to teach your child to chew using a junior toothbrush, rubbing it over their gums and encouraging them to bite down.
Mouth raker
These children use their fingers to rake out food or liquid and occasionally vomit. Keep pieces of food very small and once the food is in their mouth, clasp both their hands together and play a clapping game. Slowly increase portion size.
Sensitive child
Timid children are scared of food and often parents decide to protect them from the experience. Allow your child to touch the food, kiss it, and give them plenty of time before moving to the next step. Ms Di Prima advises parents not offer sweets if dinner is refused.
The white food child
These children are the most concern nutritionally, because they eat only white bread, yoghurt, chips, ice cream and nuggets. These children have not developed chewing stamina and need to be introduced to crunchier and chewier food.
Ms Di Prima says it will take many months of patience and persistence, and recommends parents keep a food diary of what their child is eating.
The defiant child
By 12 months children should be consuming the family meal, but some children simply refuse. If a meal is refused, remove the plate and offer a small glass of milk before bed, but don't offer any alternatives.
The spontaneous gagger or vomiter
As babies, these children would have closed their mouth and turned their head at the offer of food, which develops to a gag or vomit as they get older. Dr Cichero says these children will be frightened and often lack the communication skills to tell their parents how they are feeling. She suggests initially encouraging children to breathe through their mouth to reduce the aroma
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