Support your fussy eater with one serve a day

Key points

• Around 30%* of Aussie children are considered fussy, picky, or selective eaters.
• AptaGrow provides one-third of your child’s daily recommended intake of key nutrients^ .
• AptaGrow helps support healthy eating habits as it contains no added sugar in line with the Australian Dietary Guidelines.

One in three Australian* kids present some form of fussy eating habits, also known as picky eating or selective eating, when it comes to their food preferences. It can look like many different things, from a willingness to only eat preferred or familiar foods, only eating small portions, or refusing certain food groups altogether. Regardless of how your child’s fussy eating presents, there’s something every parent can agree on, it creates a lot of anxiety around their health and around mealtimes – and it’s exhausting! The truth is, your child’s selective eating habits can be detrimental to their growth and development, and to both of your emotional health.

Fussy Eating and the Parent-Child Relationship 

When your child isn’t eating, it’s stressful. You want the best for your child, you want to see them happy and healthy, and you want to have the peace of mind of knowing their diet supports their healthy growth and development. On top of that, when your child equates mealtimes with things they don’t enjoy or a stressful interaction with you – well, they might end up associating mealtimes with negative emotions, which can further exacerbate their fussy eating habits. As parents, we’re always trying to do what’s best for our children, but it can feel like a losing battle between fighting to keep them eating a healthy diet and keeping them soothed and happy.

Effects of Fussy Eating on Health

Aside from the mental and emotional stress. Children who are picky eaters are at risk of missing out on the correct intake of iron, calcium, zinc, and other important vitamins and minerals, which can lead to deficiencies that manifest in more serious complications if they become extreme. Knock-on effects of children not getting their daily nutritional intake can affect their energy levels and ability to grow and learn, weaken their immune system, put them at risk of not being a healthy weight, and lead to potential dental problems.

Supporting Your Fussy Eater

We know your number one priority is the well-being of your children, which is why we wanted to create a product to support the journey of creating healthy eating habits. With one serve per day of AptaGrow, your child is getting 18 vitamins and minerals, and meeting one-third of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) recommended daily intake for key nutrients, iron, zinc & vitamin D.

However, while it can be a wonderful addition to your toolbelt when you’re struggling to get your child to eat healthy foods, it’s important to understand that an excess of liquid calories is not conducive to a healthy diet. In fact, it is not recommended for children to consumer more than one serve of nutritional supplements per day unless advised otherwise by your healthcare provider. It’s also important that your child isn’t filling up on liquid calories and spoiling their appetite for whole foods during mealtimes.

Age-adapted Nutrition

Fussy eating comes in all shapes and sizes, and at all ages, usually peaking around the ages of two to six**, but it can persist for many years beyond. As our children grow, their nutritional needs develop, which is why we’ve created three distinct formulations which support children from as young as one year, to as old as ten.

AptaGrow 1+ supports children aged one to three years old by providing specific protein levels for their development through these crucial years of growth.

AptaGrow 3+ supports children aged three to six years old with a formula that contains calcium and vitamin D for developing strong bones and teeth, and iron for cognitive function.

AptaGrow 6+ support growing bodies aged six to ten with iron for regular energy production, and vitamin A to support and vision.

Plus, on top of all of those amazing vitamins and minerals, AptaGrow also contains synbiotics, a unique combination of important prebiotics and probiotics that provide a positive effect on gut microbiota composition. It also has no artificial colours, artifical flavours, or added sugar.

In fact, the flavour of AptaGrow is comparable to a glass of milk and your child’s serving of AptaGrow should be included as part of their recommended 500mL intake of cows’ milk per day.

Plenty of good stuff, and it’s designed not to spoil your child’s appetite, supporting you in building healthy eating habits.

References:

1. *Taylor C.M. et al., (2015) Picky/fussy eating in children: Review of definitions, assessment, prevalence and dietary intakes. Appetite, 95:349-359.
2. **Levene I.R. & Williams A. (2018) Fifteen-minute consultation: The healthy child: “My child is a fussy eater!”. Archives of Disease in Childhood-Education and Practice, 103(2):71-78.
3. Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. Kids Health Information: Nutrition – Babies and Toddlers. https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Nutrition_babies_toddlers/

Food for Special Medical Purposes. Must be used under medical supervision. Not suitable as a sole source of nutrition, designed to be consumed in conjunction with a healthy varied diet.

^Based on the NHMRC Nutrient Reference Values; iron, zinc & vitamin D.