Hearing your child say, “No thanks, I’m not hungry,” can be frustrating—especially after you’ve spent time preparing a nutritious meal. If this scenario sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many parents face the daily challenge of encouraging their kids to eat well. To help ease your worries and make mealtimes less stressful, here are 5 effective tips to boost your child’s appetite and support healthy eating habits
1. Invite your child to prepare breakfast with you
From an early age, children should be involved in setting the table and preparing breakfast with their parents, for example. They can squeeze oranges, put out cutlery, and so on. Helping to prepare the meal is a great way to boost a child’s appetite, as it gives them a sense of pride and complicity with Mom and Dad.
2. Treat your child like a grown-up
Show your child that as he grows, he’ll be able to try new flavors and tastes. Offer them different yogurts to change from their usual milk or savory snacks for a grown-up’s brunch.
3. Vary the pleasures to Boost Child’s Appetite
What if your child simply needed more variety? For a change from traditional toast, offer fresh or dried fruit, cereals, or an omelette for breakfast. For snacks, spare him the compote or a piece of fruit every day. To make sure he doesn’t get bored, offer him a small slice of cheese and a hard-boiled egg or cereal bar without going too sweet or too fatty.
4. Set a pretty table
To attract his attention and make him want to eat, get out your child’s favorite bowl and a fun placemat and prepare a funny plate with him, creating drawings and shapes with the different foods. This is also a good way to get your child to eat a little of everything
5. Use your creativity.
Accepting your child’s preferences is important, but there’s no question of serving him something other than the planned dish or two desserts to compensate. Don’t give in to blackmail, but try to include nutritious foods in creative ways: in gratins, muffins, or pancakes, for example.
