Now how would you know that in between both the meals how much interval should be there or gap should be there? So it's very important that you space out the meals appropriately. At least by three and a half to four hours in the middle. Yes, this is one of the biggest mistakes that we tend to make, because we think our child is small and he must be hungry. So we feed him early. We shouldn't do that. Because due to this-- This is one of the most important things which will ensure that {\an8}your child eats when food is served to him. {\an8}So that's why Arham's meals are spaced out. Like 7 am is his first meal so second meal is between 10.30 am and 10.45 am. If I make him sit for the meal before that, he doesn't eat. Similarly for lunch and similarly for dinner. And because he is small right now, his sleep requirement is more now. So at night 12 hours, 11-12 hours he sleeps that's why he eats only four meals in a day. But if your child is sleeping less in the night for example eight hours then you're most welcome to increase these meal times five meals a day. But remember to space them out by at least three and a half hours.
Now once you fix these meal times. You even spaced them out but if your baby has a habit of random eating for a long time, so it'll take a little time to unlearn that habit. So make sure that you give the baby a little bit of time to settle into this new routine that you are following for the baby. And by the way, this routine is going to have long term benefits. I'll talk about that later. So,it may happen that when you're trying this for the first time your baby may not eat properly. Then you'll think, Oh God! he didn't his 7 am meal, he must be starving. So let me try again at 8 am. Maybe he's not hungry now. 8 o'clock I'll try again. Now he'll eat. And then he doesn't eat properly at 8 o'clock also. So you again try at 9 o'clock. So this is a mistake that you have to completely avoid. And now I'm telling you in advance about it so maybe you can be careful about that next time you try to do something like that. So what happens is that even if your baby is if your baby is not eating well at 7 o'clock, maybe he's not hungry, maybe he's not ready. But if he's ready for the next meal or not, you'll come to know this thing when you serve him his next meal at 10.30 am or 11 am. If you serve him before that the same thing will happen with the second meal like what happened with the first meal. {\an8}So, give it a few days for this routine to settle {\an8}and I guarantee that your child will eat well in every meal if there is no in between meal snacking. Also, it is very important that whatever meals you're feeding your baby, make them interesting. And when I say interesting, I don't mean make a teddy bear in the plate, or make eyes on it or a smiley face. I'm not saying that. But make sure that the food that you're giving to your baby is tasty. Babies really start recognizing their taste buds if you give them nice tasty food, yummy food, you know. Then they look forward to eating that meal.
For example, rice. Like I don't give my children Basmati rice. I give them starchy rice. Like Ambe Mohar or Kolam, because the quality of this rice is a little sticky. It has more starch. It's more tasty, it's softer and the babies love it. And then I also try to make it interesting for them by adding a little bit of ghee tempering on it with a little bit of cumin powder, or a little bit of asafoetida in the lentils. Sometimes I add dried fenugreek's tempering on the lentils. And how think about ways of how you can make a meal interesting for the child. Now, if your child is small, for example, if he's a year old. Now I started Arham on a full family diet very early. He was only about 10-11 months when I started full family diet for him. And when I say full family diet I don't mean that you feed him spicy food, like add chilli or heavy spices. No, it has to be simple. But add coriander powder, cumin powder, a little bit of fresh coriander leaves for flavour, little bit of desi ghee, sometimes cheese if in any dish something that goes with goes well with cheese. For example Dosa, so adding some cheese on it It only makes the child look forward to the meal better and he ends up eating it better because he's enjoying the taste of the food. {\an8}The most important habit that you can teach your child {\an8}that is to recognize his or her hunger.
I think it's a thing which all the babies are born with. They have an instinct, right? A small child, when he's hungry, cries because he's recognizing his hunger. He know he needs something. I want something in my stomach. It's empty now. And when he's done, he stops drinking milk, right? So this is one such habit which we as parents have to develop it more. We have to inculcate it more. Instead of, rather than making him eat more, you know. Many times we as mothers and this happens with me also. And specially when the first time I became a mother with Areeza, I did this mistake of over feeding her. So what happens if you keep on feeding your child so the child forgets that he's eating to satisfy his hunger and the child just keeps on eating. Now another mistake that we make while feeding the kid is making them watch something. Like playing a video on YouTube, or showing something on an iPad, showing them a cartoon or turned on the TV. What happens due to this is-- why do we call a television and 'Idiot Box'? Because literally you become an idiot when you're watching something playing in that box. So the baby forgets. The child forgets why he's eating the food. He just gets so engrossed in watching what he's watching that he keeps eating. And it's only a matter of time before the child forgets to recognize that crucial hunger sign which he was actually born with. So please don't do that. Try to let the baby eat. Not try! Let the baby eat without all these gadgets. And make that the baby eats when he's hungry and stops when he's not. Also important is for you to understand when to stop feeding the child. It's very important. Because if you start feeding your baby his first meal at 7 am, and at 7.30 am the baby starts fussing a little suddenly, {\an8}you know, he gets distracted, he wants toys to play with {\an8}and you’re feeding him, but he's turning away his face and he's spitting out his food. This is the sign that the baby is now full, he's done.
Don't count the number of rotis he's eaten. Don't count how much porridge he's eaten. Don't count how many eggs he's eaten. If he's done, it means the his stomach is full. The size of his stomach is small. He'll not eat more than this. So stop feeding him. If you keep forcing him again then you're confusing his signs of hunger. Secondly, you're completely putting him off food, because he'll think why am I being punished. She's just keeps on feeding me. I don't want it. Next time when you bring his food, he'll be like Oh, no! this will start again. Now she'll force me. I don't want to eat. And what will happen due to this, third thing that will happen is the meal that you started at 7 o'clock, is going on and on till 8-8.30 am. So the meal scheduled for 10.30 am or 11 am that will also be disrupted. Because the child will not be able to digest his first meal before you serve the second one. One of the biggest mistakes that mothers make and I also have committed this mistake a lot is that if I used to give something to Areeza. Suppose I gave her a fried egg, okay? She's not eating it. She ate half and she's not eating the rest. So I became worried. She's not eating. Maybe she didn't like it. What should I do? Let me try a toast. So I brought the toast with butter and jam. So she ate half of it. Oh my God! She's not eating it. Let me try a paratha. So bring the paratha, an aloo paratha. She ate a little. She ate a quarter of it. And suddenly she stops. And I'm like Oh my God! She's not eating this.
Now what should I do? So I fed her some biscuits. Fed her some milk. So I fed her little bit of so many things. And at the end of the whole meal the mother feels that Oh! my child did not eat anything. I gave him eggs, I also gave him toast, also gave a paratha. He did not eat anything. {\an8}But come to think of it {\an8}you baby ate half an egg, half a toast {\an8}ate a quarter of a paratha, ate biscuits and drank milk also. So now what more will the child eat? You know, so this is the biggest mistake. We feed the baby so much and we keep on feeding every half an hour thinking that no, he's still not full. Trust me. Like I said a baby is born with that skill to recognise his hunger. It is basic human instinct. We just have to help the child develop it further. We don't have to curb that instinct. If the child does not wish, don't feed him. In fact, I go to the extent of taking the food away and not trying anything else with Arham. Now that I'm a little bit more experienced with my experience with Areeza. So I tell her that okay, if you don't want, don't eat. I'll not give you anything else. So the benefit of this is that as the child grows up he becomes less fussy when it comes to eating. So if you give him Bitter Gourd, he will even eat that. If you give him Bottle Gourd or Tori, he'll eat that too. Because he knows that I have this on my plate. If I'm hungry, I'll get only this. I don't have any other option. And that is a very important thing that I completely live by.
So basically, a small thing that you have to remember is that when you sit to feed your child. So you just put yourself in the baby's shoes. And think that what I'm doing with my baby now, if someone does that to me, will I like it? Maybe the food is not tasty, but I'm being forced to eat it. Will I like it? Will I like it if I'm full and someone is telling me come on, eat two more bites or eat this last bite. Oh! you must eat the curd. So how will you feel? And now think this too that if someday you over eat because you went to someone's place and they force fed you. You ate Puri and also ate Chick Peas curry. You also ate a lot of dessert. And you even had buttermilk. How do you feel? You feel hungry in the next meal? I don't think so. {\an8}And do you feel bloated? And do you feel like, {\an8}Oh God! I'm going to have indigestion? {\an8}It's such a horrible feeling, right? So the same feeling your child will have if you overfeed him. So we just have to do this much that we have to teach the baby... to eat the right quantity of food. I mean apart from eating the right things, we also have to teach him to eat in the right quantity. That is important. If this happens, he'll never face any problem when he grows up.
Problems related to obesity or cholesterol, problems related to blood pressure of diabetes. You know, there are thousands of problem which arise due to over eating. So we have to avoid these things, just as we avoid them for ourselves. So, I would like to sign out by saying that just the way you are giving time to your baby to fall into this routine, give yourself also time to fall into this routine. Don't stress. Just feed your baby patiently and calmly, so that the feeding time or the meal time is, both for you and your baby is a fun time. So that you both look forward to it. It should not be a time which is stressful for the baby as well as you. I hope these tips helped you. And if you have any further queries you please write down in the comments below and I'll reply to them.
I want to also add here, dear mothers that if you have any queries-- Many a times it happens that our question is so complicated that we cannot write it in the comments. So you make a voice note. Don't type it, just record your voice and ask me that question and mail it to me on beingwomanwithchhavi@gmail.com Okay? You can send me your questions there. And I'll play your question in one of my live sessions and I'll reply to all those questions. It'll be easy for me also to reply to your questions. And it'll be easier for you also to send me your questions. Okay. So please do that and remember to like this video, share this video with a struggling mother who's struggling with meal times with her kid, and tell me how you liked it. Also don't forget to subscribe to 'Being Woman with Chhavi' This is me signing out. Love and peace from me to you.
