What Everyone Needs to Know About Handling Picky Eaters
The first piece of advice I have is to follow your kid’s lead. If they say that they are not hungry and don’t want to eat, then let it go. Healthy children will not starve themselves. But, if your child refuses to eat his carrots and then immediately claims he is hungry for cookies, you’ve got another problem!
So, if your problem is that your child likes sweets or other foods that are not healthy, ban these foods from your home. In my house, sweets are considered “sometimes foods” and generally we only have these treats when we are out. Cupcakes or cake is reserved for birthday parties. Ice cream is reserved for a once a month treat when we go to the ice cream parlor. And, chips and donuts are pretty much not eaten except in the event of very special parties. And yet, my child does not seem to miss them because she knows them as treats and as such, they are very exciting for her!
Another problem many people have is that they find that their children are just not hungry at mealtimes. I have a few suggestions for this problem and it depends on your lifestyle and what you’ve been doing in the past. First of all, a regular mealtime schedule is important for children. If they can anticipate meals at a certain time (give or take a bit, within reason), they are more likely to be hungry. In addition, if you have a set schedule for mealtimes, you can accordingly plan snacks so that they are not too close to the mealtimes.
Next, I would suggest that you limit the amount of liquids your child drinks. A child who guzzles cup after cup of apple juice will get full. The same goes for milk. And, it goes double for soda!! Yes, milk and apple juice do have some nutritive value but simply drinking milk or juice all day does not fulfill the balanced dietary needs.
Make mealtimes appealing to children. Busy children often would rather play than stop what they are doing to come to the table and eat. But, if mealtime is interesting and fun, they may reconsider. Eat with the children and have conversations with them. Tell silly riddles about foods (i.e. what food is green and looks like a tree? BroccoliâÂ?¦âÂ?¦young kids will be amused by almost anything!) Arrange the food on the plate to look like a face or an animal (i.e. a face can be made with cracker “eyes”, a strawberry ‘nose”, half a slice of bologna for a “mouth” and broccoli for the “hair”. Let children be creative and design their own!
A similar suggestion is to let children help plan meals and cook. No, they can’t plan to have macaroni and cheese every night but within reason, children can help plan balanced menus. Cooking with mom or dad is even more fun for kids and most kids will be more pleased to eat a dish that they have helped cook! There are so many things that even young children can do to help cook. They can cut soft foods with a plastic knife, they can stir (one hint is to let them stir on the kitchen table which is more their level than on the higher kitchen counters), and they can measure and add ingredients to a bowl. Little jobs really make them feel important and they really can be helpful if you have patience. And, don’t forget clean up! Young children love to play in a sink full of soapy water with lots of plastic bowls and utensils. All you’ll have to do when they’re done is to rinse the soap off with hot water!
When you do plan meals, do plan at least one food at each meal that you know that the child likes to eat. Add something new to that “comfort” food and add a food that he may not like as well but will tolerate. Make sure portions are small and not overwhelming. Encourage the child to at least taste the new food. Studies have shown that a child often needs to be exposed to a food ten times before he decides that he likes it. If a child shows a strong dislike for a particular food, you may want to hold off on that food for a while but do reintroduce it again in a month or so.
Never force children to eat food. If they don’t care for it, fine. If they say that they are not hungry, fine. But also don’t let them have the choice to have something else in place of the food that they are not eating. You will be setting yourself up for a future as a short order chef making different meals for everyone in your family ever night and that’s just no fun for the cook!
So you are still saying that it is impossible to get your child to eat fruits or vegetables or some other food. Here are some tips that might make those foods more appealing. Young children like to dip foods so try this approach. You can give your child vegetables such as broccoli and let them dip it into another food. Typical veggie dips are one good choice but don’t overlook some other ideas which may not be appealing to you but may be delightful to your child. My child likes to dip anything into ketchup. She also likes to dip her vegetables into cheese sauce (I make my own with milk and cheddar cheese but you could use a pre-made cheese dip or spread) and applesauce. Yes, applesauce!!! Things my daughter typically won’t eat such as chicken, carrots, or celery are dipped in applesauce and she will then eat them. Fruits such as apple slices and others can be dipped into yogurt or peanut butter.
You can also add vegetables in places your child won’t even notice. If you are making a quick banana bread, you can add some grated zucchini and real mashed bananas. You can add diced vegetables to casseroles. You can even puree vegetables and add them to sauces. Your child may never know it’s in there! You can also add sauces to steamed veggies. A particular favorite in our house is cheese but there are also many other creative sauce solutions.
Another suggestion is to make the food LOOK interesting. Cut sandwiches with a cookie cutter so you have heart shaped sandwiches or star shaped pancakes. Make “ants on a log” by spreading peanut butter or cream cheese on celery and adding raisins (the ants) on top. Use interesting dishes. I personally like the paper plates that are animal shapes. There is always a new animal to discover!
In all, be creative with food and don’t ever try to force your child to eat what he will not. You are creating a power struggle and, in the end, you will not win. Everyone has likes and dislikes and as long as your child eats a mostly balanced diet, he will be fine. Make eating a positive and exciting experience and your child will eat most of what’s good for him!
