Ike, from when he started eating solid food, always chewed everything. This made him dislike eba and fufu (swallows), because he had to chew them. But his godmother, who discovered that he liked meat, used same to lure him to swallow – whenever he accepts to ‘swallow’, he would be given lots of meat. That worked. Not long, he started to ‘swallow’ like other of his siblings.
“My daughter will carefully pick out every ring of onion she can find in her food. This can be frustrating because she tends to either run late for school or not eat enough,” complained Cynthia Aimakhu, a housewife.
There are parents, like Aimakhu, who have given up on such kids.
“I don’t know what to do again. I have decided to stop giving her onion totally except in soups. When she grow up, let her decide whether she needs it or not,” she added.
However, Tosin Akinwunmi decided to take time out of her busy medical practice to go the extra mile to make her daughter like fruits, especially the Vitamin C-packed citrus.
Now that the kids are on holiday, it is an opportunity to spend more time with them and explore their creativity in the kitchen to, among other things, address the issue of picking foods.
According to Ojuolape Are, a paediatrician, there is nothing unusual for children to be picky which they do for three main reasons; love for sweet tastes, the fear to try new foods and dislike of particular tastes, smells and texture of foods.
If only mothers can identify the source of the selective habit of their children, they will realise that they can actually work it out easily from the kitchen.
What to do
To positively impact on the children’s food behaviour, it is advisable to lead by example because if it begins in childhood, it will last a lifetime. If a parent makes it a habit to eat fruits, the kids would naturally be drawn to fruits.
More so, focus must be on the meal and not television, toy or a book which may make the kid get bored with food.
Are also advises that parents should respect the taste of their children, but should instead serve varieties at meal time.
“They should not be forced to eat what they don’t like, and it should not be removed completely. Keep serving it with other foods and they may be willing to try it one day,” Are said.
“One trick I have devised is to involve my daughter in the cooking process. Although she is still too young to cook, in a subtle manner, I encourage her to add those vegetables she used to reject to soups and it is working for me,” explained Damilola Fapetu, a fashion designer.
Similar to Fapetu’s method, kids’ plates of foods can be linked to their interests in a colourful way.
“Whatever is their interest, football or cartoon, you can pattern their food in that manner to arouse their interest. For instance, tell them to also try eating carrot to know rabbits love it in cartoons,” advised Are.
Once a parent knows the preferred texture of food for their children, the job is done.
“My children have different pick of foods, but when I add those items to their meals, they never notice. Instead of completely removing onions from fried eggs, I blend it with a little pepper. One of them, who do not like to see fish in his plate because of bone, has been eating it without knowing because I debone and serve it in other dishes,” revealed Ebun Coker, a caterer.
Are, however, suggests that parent should let go when they notice that a child reacts to certain foods, even after it had been incorporated into their meal in a different way.