Food habits you build today will last a lifetime. Meal times matter! Hungry babies want to eat. It's up to parents and other caretakers to help babies develop a good attitude about food. How? With lots of praise, a little patience and encouragement, your baby can learn to like a wide variety of tastes and textures in new foods. Good food habits start in infancy. Help your baby learn to eat just the right amount for her — not too much, not too little, but just the right amount. Don’t coax your baby to clean her plate. Don’t offer food as a reward. If your baby doesn’t like a food, or if she seems not to tolerate it well, don’t make her eat it. Wait a week or two. Then offer it again. Give a small portion of what she didn’t like before, served with a food she does like, but don’t mix the two. You might try to cook the food she dislikes in a different way. Young children may not like a food they can’t identify. If the rest of the family likes a food, your baby will probably like it too. When family members or friends offer your baby foods that you prefer not to serve, be willing to bend a little bit. Allow your child to have a small amount of the food every
now and then. Small amounts of sweets will do less harm than a negative response from you. On the other hand, encourage your child to eat healthy foods every time you get a chance.

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