Parents often face the situation when their child refuses to eat the prepared food, yet still drink their milk appropriately. This may cause parents to feel cautious or even frustrated. The World Health Organization (WHO) advises that as the child reaches the age of 6 months, they should be introduced to complementary food, as their nutritional requirements are not met only with breast milk at this age. The initial feeding moments of children is important for them to learn to eat, enrich their taste buds with a variety of food texture, train their teeth and jaw to chew, as well as improve their ability to interact and communicate. The nature of complementary food provision is to complement the nutrition obtained from breast milk. Other than age, parents should also observe several factors before introducing complementary food to their child, including:

• Ability of the child to sit up with support, as well as head control and maintaining an upright neck. The child should also have a good eye-hand-mouth coordination, which may be observed as they attempt to reach for a toy and place it in their mouth.
• Showing interest towards food. For instance, the child shows curiosity and attempts to reach for the food being eaten by their parents.
• The child opens their mouth when parents attempt to feed them with a spoon, and is able to swallow the food.

If the child is of adequate age and shows the aforementioned signs of readiness, the parents may proceed with introducing complementary food. To ease the process, the following steps may be applied: Provide a specific time for meals, particularly at the initial stages of introducing complementary food. Coordinate your time to that of the child, and not the other way around. Stop feeding if the child shows signs of satiety.

• Observe the serving size. The digestive system of babies is not fully developed, so serving size should start as a small portion, for instance, a few small spoons in a day.
• Set an example. Allow the child to sit together in the dining table when parents are having their meals, even though it is not their meal time. This will help the child observe the eating manner of the parents.
• Let the child touch the food that they eat, to help them recognize textures.
• Be creative. Do not be fixated on a few specific menu items. Attempt to serve something new every day, which will help to increase flavour variations.

If all the strategies have been implemented but the child still prefers to consume milk and refuse to eat other food, consider the possibility of other factors, such as tiredness, sickness, or not feeling hungry. Also observe if the child is teething? Signs such as enlarged gums and refusing to eat may also indicate the teething period. One of the keys in managing children who refuse to eat is to avoid using force. This will only lead to trauma and the child will further refuse to eat. Simply put, if the child is hungry, they will willingly consume the food you provide. Give them time to adapt, and you will eventually understand whether they are hungry or full, uninterested in the menu, or is simply feeling tired. Other than that, be aware that the feeding time of the child is not merely to provide food for them, but also to strengthen the bond between parents and their child. This is also an opportunity to interact closely with the child, and this time should be utilized as well as possible. Therefore, parents should ensure that they are calm when faced with a situation where the child refuses to eat, in order to ensure quality feeding time, from which both parent and child may obtain maximum benefits.