1. Eat “new food” in your child’s presence without offering any.
- Casually mention that the food tastes good to capture his interest so that your child will ask for a bite.
- Offer small portions only.
- Do not praise or scold regardless of your child’s response.
2. Never force-feed your child, and never use food to reward or express affection.
3. Avoid distractions, such as TV or gadgets, during mealtimes.
4. Choose healthy food.
- Provide unprocessed food like fruits, vegetables, fortified cereals, or grains, nuts or seeds, meat, poultry, fish or legumes, and dairy products.
5. Create the “Family Table”.
- Sit together as a family as often as possible during mealtimes.
- Limit meals to 20-30 minutes unless your child is still actively eating.
6. Introduce new food through food chaining.
- Start with a food your child enjoys. Find food with similar characteristics (taste, texture, smell, color) and introduce gradually in a non-challenging way.
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