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Picky Eaters, Fostering Healthy Eating Habits and More

API's Eight Principles of Parenting are recommended companion readings as the foundation and context for all of our research-based resources.

 

Tips on Nurturing a Taste for Nutritious Food

  • Model healthy eating habits
  • Try to make at least one meal a day a time for connection and community
  • Encourage a child to follow his bodily cues for hunger and thirst, to eat when he is hungry and stop when he is full
  • Forcing a child to eat, or to eat a certain food, is counterproductive and can lead to unhealthy eating habits and potentially eating disorders
  • Avoid the use of food as a reward or punishment, or of making food (or dessert) contingent on behavior
  • Rather than restricting access to certain foods, consider having only healthy options available in the home and allowing the child to choose

 

Free Resources from API's Library and Publications