Worried Over Your Picky Eaters’ Growth? Get Tips to Improve Nutrition & Optimise Growth Potential!

Do you face mealtime battles with your child over vegetables and fruits every day? You are not alone. Many parents worry about their children who stubbornly refuse to try new foods, or shy away from vegetables and fruits to eat a balanced diet for healthy growth and development.

Growth is an important indicator of your child’s overall health and nutritional status. Poor growth may be a result of imbalanced eating habits (E.g. picky eating), nutritional deficiency and in some cases, underlying medical conditions.

At every age milestone, growth potential varies across a wide range. While we know every child’s growth trajectory is unique, the current growth trajectory of your picky eating child, can nonetheless impact achievement of growth potential, especially height in adulthood.

The real truth about outgrowing picky eating

One of the most common questions we get asked is, “Will my child outgrow picky eating habits?”

The truth is that some children outgrow fussy eating while others do not. Pediatricians often say that the kids that do outgrow it are the ones that are going through developmentally normal phase. This phase usually starts somewhere around 1-2 years old and lasts until 3-6 years old.

But, what about the picky eaters that don’t outgrow it?

Most of them should grow out of their finicky eating habits, but not all of them do. Picky eating in childhood is more likely to become a lifelong ailment if parents don’t intervene when their child is still a toddler, according to the results of a new study.

By aged 7-10 years old, picky eaters are at a risk of nutrient deficiencies. This, in turn, gets more severe through their growing-up years which can be detrimental for growth, development and health.

But how do you know if your child is growing to his potential?

Monitor your child’s weight and height by tracking growth percentile regularly to ensure you are supporting your child’s nutrition to achieve growth potential. The height potential of your child is influenced both by genetics as well as your child’s unique height percentile trajectory. Discover your child’s potential height at 18 years old and check if your child is on track.

Learn more about how your child’s genetic height is calculated via the Mid-Parental height method:

For boys: add 13 cm to the mother’s height, and average this with the father’s height
For girls: subtract 13 cm from the father’s height and average this with the mother’s height

What are the necessities to optimise your child’s growth potential?

Building a strong nutritional foundation, gives you the power to make a difference to your child’s health, current growth trajectory and more importantly, achieving growth potential.

Timely and appropriate dietary intervention for your picky eating child is crucial as we do not want to miss window of opportunity for growth at every developmental stage. Experimenting with different strategies can also help improve what your child eats and help you manage the stress during mealtime. Here are some tips:

Involve your child in the grocery shopping and food preparation
Keep mealtime positive – no punishment, nagging, or forcing as this will only create pressure and an unpleasant setting
Keep mealtime to no more than 30 minutes. This is to minimise stress for parent and child, and provide both parties with “the much-needed relief”
No electronic gadgets at the dining table
Eat together at set mealtimes
Offer your child a variety of nutritious foods, even if they don’t eat them. Nutrient-rich foods include meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

Consider the use of energy-dense, complete, balanced nutrition formula

Eating a variety of foods might be easier said than done for a picky eater. One easy alternative might be to consider the use of energy-dense, complete, balanced nutrition supplements. 1 or two serves a day of the nutrient-dense nutrition supplement can plug many nutritional gaps in the diets of picky eaters as well as children who need to catch up on growth. This unique supplement also delivers a wide range of vitamins and minerals making every delicious sip a nutrient-packed power choice.

Available in a variety of flavors as a ready-to-drink bottle or an easy-to-prepare powder, you can conveniently and confidently ensure your growing child meets nutrient goals by building in a complete and balanced oral nutrition supplement as part of a meal or snack.

Check out more tips on how to deal with fussy eaters.

Pediasure – Grow Your Child’s Potential

Pediasure Gold is scientifically formulated to support children between 1 to 10 years old, who have sub-optimal growth or poor dietary habits (e.g. picky eating, poor appetite). It is powerpacked with 34 essential nutrients and contains a unique TripleSure system that includes Arginine & Natural Vitamin K2.

Unique TripleSure System:

Physical Growth: Protein provides amino acids for muscle tissue building and growth. Arginine is an amino acid. Vitamin D for maintenance of normal muscle function.
Immunity Support: Vitamins A, B6, B12, C, iron, zinc, and selenium for normal immune function.
Bone Development: Magnesium, vitamin D for calcium absorption. Calcium, vitamins D and K for development of strong bones.

For parents with children who have dietary restrictions, you’ll be pleased to know that Pediasure Gold is lactose-free, gluten-free, kosher and Halal! The unique Singapore formula also has 25% less sugar^ and 25% higher in calcium^.

With Pediasure Gold, your child will never miss a growing moment. It can be used as a nutritious snack in between meals, or as a supplement to a meal.

It comes in irresistibly yummy flavours that your child will surely approve – Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate! The same nutrition goodness is also available at zero sugar with our original ‘Sucrose Free’ formula that has the same nutritional goodness but without added sugar.

Also available in ready-to-drink format in Classic Vanilla and Premium Chocolate – perfect enjoy on thego!

Get your FREE PediaSure Sample Kit with 3 delicious flavours or in sucrose free original flavour!