4 Tricks to help your picky eater at home
1. Becoming independent- Is your toddler refusing their preferred foods and refusing to try new foods, unless it is on their terms? If this is your problem, your toddler might be testing their limits as a way of telling you that they are ready for more independence with mealtime.
What to do? Instead of arguing or getting into a power struggle, place two foods that are “sometimes preferred” and “very preferred” food on your toddler’s plate. It is not your job to get your child to eat; your job is to present healthy, nutritious foods and EXPECT them to eat what you have offered. Often times you, as a parent, feel that you are responsible when your child refuses foods, however 9 times out of 10 it is a behavior developing and if it is dealt with in the right way from the start, your child will be less likely to keep “testing” you in the future.
2. “It’s yucky!”- This is not always your picky eater being difficult or defiant, they might not like green beans… YET! Sometimes exploring the food without the pressure of actually eating it goes a long way!
It takes practice and it is important that you teach your children not to disregard food items after only one taste. How many times do you hear adults saying, “I used to hate ______, but now I can’t get enough of them”??. Studies have shown, it can take 10-15 TASTES (consecutive) before a child/adult will consistently chew and swallow a NEW food.
Also, encourage your child to dip their non-preferred foods into something they love and get them to lick it off. For instance, (I know it sounds odd) so many of my kiddos like carrots with sun butter on them. Now, I would have never thought about this, but we eat celery with peanut butter, so why not try it with carrots?!
3. “I’m not hungry!”- It’s mealtime and your child just will not eat.
Sometimes you, as a parent, see the clock and think “She must be hungry it’s “lunch time”, when in fact, you just offered her 5 crackers an hour ago and maybe she really isn’t hungry right then. It is important to understand your child’s hunger cues and try to help him/her to understand the concept of hungry/full.
With that being said, it is SO important to remember to limit snacking, especially when you are offering “empty” snacks like crackers, cheerios, puffs, yogurt melts, etc. These foods will give your child a false sense of fullness, and they will be less likely to eat when it is mealtime.
4. “I’m bored!”- Your child is refusing to eat their “favorite” grilled cheese triangles. Have you served these to him/her the past 5 nights because you KNOW he will eat them?
Children, like adults, can become bored of foods even if they were previously their “favorite”. Try not to get into a routine where you present their most favorite food every meal in fear that they will not eat otherwise. This will make mealtimes dull and boring. Instead practice food chaining, where you change their favorite food by one property each time to mix it up. (ie: grilled cheese in triangles on wheat bread with yellow cheese, grilled cheese in other shape on white bread with white cheese, grilled cheese open faced, grilled cheese with sliced turkey, etc).
