Picky Eaters Solution & Tips: Get Your Kid to Eat in 3 Easy Steps

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Parents who are anxious that their child is not getting the recommended nutrients because of being a picky eater and those who don't know what food to prepare just to get their child to eat should worry no further. According to a new study, picky eating syndrome can be defeated through the use of these three simple steps.

BBC has recently released survey results revealing that half of the children in the United Kingdom do not eat fruits or vegetables on a daily basis, unlike chocolate which seem to be part of their everyday meals. The growing concern regarding this disorder seems not only confined in the United Kingdom but all over the world as well.

Medical Xpress writes that according to Dr. Claire Farrow of the Aston Research Centre for Child Health, parents can triumph over picky eating syndrome by using the "3 Rs" - repetition, role modelling and rewards. If parents constantly expose a food to a child, show him that they like how it tastes, and give the child praises after he has tried it, then a child's attitude towards the food that he dislikes can be changed.

Dr. Farrow states the challenge for the families of affected kids is how to maintain a healthy and balanced diet, reports Science Daily. She explains that the initial defense against picky eating syndrome is understanding that it is a normal part of child development which, unfortunately, can lead to limited eating as the child matures. She also has noted that as eating behavior can extend to adulthood, it is important to introduce fruits and vegetables during early childhood.

In the study, Dr. Farrow and her team asked 115 children, ages 2 to 4, to become subjects of the experiment. The children were then separated into four groups, given similar vegetables for 14 days, and were subjected to different types of food interventions, ranging from "repeated exposure, role modelling and repeated exposure, rewards and repeated exposure, or the use of the 3 Rs".

At the end of the experiment, children who were subjected to the 3 Rs have notably increased their liking and consumption of the vegetable.

Through the use of the "3 Rs", children's consumption of vegetables has significantly increased, compared to a previous report of children in the United Kingdom, consuming only 20 percent of the recommended five vegetables a day, concludes the study.