Dealing with picky eaters

As a baby, Tahia Mukisa was a good eater, eating everything edible that could come her way. She loved milk from her first day of feeding and ate pretty much anything that could be offered- from fruits, beef, beans, bananas and ground nuts.

Olive Mukisa, her mother, says she was proud and humbled that her baby was growing faster than babies born before or at the same time with her.

“Surprisingly, right after her second birthday, she stopped drinking milk which was her favourite,’’ Mukisa recollects. It was not so long before her baby also stopped drinking passion fruit juice.

“She also quit porridge which she always took for breakfast. She abandoned carrots and never wanted to taste anything sugary but constantly took water throughout the day,” Mukisa says.

And whenever they could try to force her to take milk, she would vomit it immediately.

As a result, Mukisa was fearful that her two-year-old daughter’s disinterest in food may leave her stunted since she had to keep feeding her on tea and water as alternatives which are less nutritious.

Tahia’s mother says the infant’s condition has remained persistent and worse still, the situation is no different with her second baby boy aged three who also does not want to take milk and sugary food.

What could be the cause?
Children characterised by unwillingness to eat familiar foods or to try new foods, according to Dr Sabrina Kitaka, a senior lecturer and paediatrician at Makerere University, are sometimes allergic to the food.

In other circumstances, Dr Kitaka says, children usually become bored between the periods of one to two years.
In cases where the children are allergic, she says, children get diarrhoea whenever they eat or drink particular foods and drinks.

“But certain foods can as well be boring to children. For example, a piece of cassava or posho if you rolled it out in an egg or piece of fish to get colour, they would be attractive for the child to eat,”Dr Kitaka says.

She however says there are excluding factors like depression and anger; conditions by the child’s feeder which causes anorexia nervosa- a medical condition of lack or loss of appetite for food.

How to help
Recruit your child’s help: While shopping, seek their opinion. At the grocery store, ask your child to help you select fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods. Don’t buy anything that you don’t want your child to eat. At home, encourage your child to help you rinse veggies, prepare or set the table.

Jamiru Mpiima, a senior nutritionist–Dietitian at Family Nutrition – Uganda, says parents can always modify picky eaters through reward mechanism.

“The parent can lure the child to eat a particular food type by rewarding them whenever they want them to eat”, Mpiima says.

Sometimes, Mpiima, says there are stages such as between the ages of one to three and five to eight when the children are not growing and their appetite tends to lower which will force parents to complain.