Your child will develop good food habits if you provide a nutritious and varied diet in a pleasant, relaxed setting. When your child joins the rest of the family at mealtime, he or she learns about the social aspects of food - the sharing of food and pleasant talk of the day's activities. On days when a child is tired or cranky or too hungry to wait for mealtime, it may be best to feed the child early. Give him or her meals separately, or provide a small nutritious snack such as a whole wheat cracker or a piece of fruit until the meal is ready. Neither being too anxious nor ignoring what your child eats builds good food habits.
Children can learn at a very early age to control their parents by refusing to eat.
If your child refuses to eat or dawdles over a meal longer than a half hour or so, remove the plate without comment and limit or omit between-meal snacks. Do not call attention to your action as if you were punishing the child. A child may sometimes be too tired to eat, may be coming down with an illness, or simply not have an appetite that day. When poor appetite persists, the child should be given a medical examination, including a height and weight recheck, plus a diet history. Consultation with a dietitian may be recommended.