Tag: parenting

Tiny tummies, maximum nutrition: How to double the calories in every bite naturally

In almost every BLW India consultation I run, the most frequent question parents ask me isn’t about recipes; it’s about weight gain. “Riddhi, how do I get them to eat more?” My answer always surprises them: Stop forcing bigger portions. Let’s make every single bite count. If you feel constant anxiety about whether your toddler is eating “enough,” you are not alone. Toddler stomachs are roughly the size of their closed fist. When stomach capacity is that small, volume matters far less than density. Filling that tiny space with watery …
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How to Stop the Mealtime Chase When Your Toddler Refuses the High Chair

A few weeks ago, a mother in my practice sat down, visibly exhausted, and shared a scene almost every Indian parent knows too well: “Riddhi, my 18-month-old treats the high chair like a cage. The second I walk toward it with a bowl of khichdi, he arches his back, screams, and stiffens his legs. My mother-in-law says I shouldn’t force him and suggests running behind him with a plate around the living room. Now, every meal is a 45-minute marathon of chasing him while he plays with toys. How do …
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When Festive Cheer Meets Toddler Meltdowns at the Dinner Table

Ganesh Chaturthi pandals are glowing, dhol-tasha drums are echoing through the street, house guests are arriving for aarti, and the kitchen smells divine with fresh ukadiche modak. It’s one of the most vibrant, heartwarming times of the year for Indian families. Yet, as you sit down to a festive meal, your toddler takes one look at their plate, screams, pushes the food away, and collapses into a full-blown meltdown. In an Indian household, the reaction to this is almost instant: “Why are they acting out today of all days?” “They …
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How Much Ghee Does Your Child Actually Need

If you grew up in an Indian household, chances are ghee was treated as the ultimate medicine, energy booster, and culinary essential all in one. From the moment a baby transitions to solid foods, well-meaning grandmothers and elders eagerly offer advice: “Add another spoon of ghee to the dal,” “It makes bones strong,” or “It helps them gain weight!” While traditional wisdom gets a lot right about ghee, modern feeding practices often swing to an extreme: pouring melted ghee over every single meal until the plate is swimming in fat. …
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What to Feed Your Child When They’re Sick and Refusing Everything

This is the one feeding concern where even the calmest parents start to panic. This is the one feeding concern where even the calmest parents start to panic. When a healthy child skips a meal, most parents can talk themselves through it. They’ll eat at the next meal. It’s fine. But when a child is sick, that rationality disappears. A fever shows up, energy drops, appetite vanishes, and the quiet spiral begins: “He hasn’t swallowed a single thing today.” “She’s refusing even her favorites.” “How long can a small child …
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Why the 4 PM snack is ruining your baby’s dinner (and how to fix it)

It is a frustrating cycle that plays out in so many homes every single evening. It is 8:00 PM. You have set out a fresh, balanced dinner for your child. But the moment they sit down, they aren’t interested. They pick at a single bite, turn away, squirm out of their chair, or reject the entire plate out of hand. Naturally, you worry. Why aren’t they hungry? Are they falling sick? Is it a sudden phase of picky eating? Before you stress over the dinner menu or assume your child …
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My 6-month-old is not eating solids- Here is What’s Really Going On

This is one of the most emotional conversations I have with parents of six-month-olds. Not because anything is wrong. But because nobody prepares them for how completely underwhelming the first few weeks of solids can actually be. The messages I receive from parents usually sound something like this: “She’s just playing with the food.” “He takes one lick and then throws everything on the floor.” “We’ve been trying for two weeks and she barely swallows a thing.” And then comes the real question hiding underneath all of it: “Is my …
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Why Your Child Eats Better for Your Partner Than for You

This is one of those feeding concerns that sounds light when parents first say it, sometimes even accompanied by a nervous laugh. “He eats perfectly for his dad.” “She finishes lunch with grandma but refuses everything with me.” “At daycare they say he eats so well. At home? Complete disaster.” But underneath that laugh, there’s usually something much heavier: hurt, frustration, and sometimes even resentment. Because what many parents are really asking is: Why does my child cooperate with everyone else… but not me? And that question can feel deeply …
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How to Read Food Labels on Products Marketed for Kids

This is a topic where I constantly see parents doing their absolute best and still getting caught in a trap. Packaged food marketing has become incredibly clever at sounding reassuring. We see phrases plastered everywhere: “Made with real fruit!” “No added preservatives!” “Multigrain goodness!” “Rich in calcium for growing bones!” A mom recently showed me a packaged toddler snack she had been giving her three-year-old every single day. “Riddhi, it says ‘100% natural and healthy’ right on the front,” she told me. And honestly? I understood exactly why she picked …
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Milk Is Not a Meal Replacement

This is one of the most common conversations I have during consultations, though it almost never starts with milk. It usually starts with: “My child isn’t eating meals properly.” “They’re completely refusing lunch.” “Dinner has become a battlefield.” And then, as we dig a little deeper, the milk comes up. Three glasses. Four bottles. Milk before naps, milk right after waking, milk at bedtime, sometimes a bottle in the middle of the night. Suddenly the real picture becomes clear. The problem usually isn’t that the child has no appetite. It’s …
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Why Your Child’s Appetite Might Actually Be a Sleep Issue

During 1:1 consultations, parents often tell me their child ate almost nothing today and they can’t figure out what changed. One of my first questions is usually: how did they sleep last night? That question surprises people. We think of sleep and food as separate worlds – one happens at bedtime, one at mealtime. But for small children, the connection between the two is much tighter than most parents realize. A poorly rested child doesn’t just become cranky. They often become a completely different eater. Once I started asking about …
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