Tips for Feeding Picky Eaters
We’d love to hear from you! Tell us how you get your picky eaters to try new things. Here are a few tips to remember when looking to introduce new foods to your little ones.
· Never force or restrict food choices
· Remember it is the parent or caregiver who controls what and where and when food is provided. But, it is up to the child to decide how much to eat and whether or not to eat.
· Parents should continue to offer the child a variety of foods at mealtimes. For some children, it takes being offered a food up to 15 times before they are willing to try it.
· Most importantly, parents and caregivers should be good role models and children should observe you enjoying a variety of healthy foods.
· Remain patient and maintain a pleasant mealtime environment and children generally begin trying more foods with time.
I love some of those recipes that you gave us. I’m going to try the Muffins tomorrow for Mother’s Day!
Patty
The article and tips on encouraging picky eaters to try new things, made me smile. My husband and I are the proud parents of two very picky-eating boys. The following techniques helped us expand their food selections:
Don’t restrict food, but limit alternate choices.
Reason with your child to try the food once and if they don’t like it, assure them that they will not have to try it again. The key to this one is that you have to keep your promise.
Educate them on the benefits of eating different foods. My 12-year-old responds well to this because he’s an extremely healthy eater.
Try alternative ways of preparing foods. For example, we learned that one of our boys will only eat raw vegetables instead of cooked.
Season food less so that the children can actually taste the food as opposed to a mouth full of spices. Often, it’s the saltiness, over-powering garlic, or peppery burn that drives kids away from certain foods.
Let the picky eaters plan dinner sometimes. If the rest of the family is willing to compromise and eat what the picky eater wants, sometimes they will reciprocate on other nights.
My favorite tip is that parents should let children help prepare meals that inlcude new foods as often as possible. Children take a lot of pride in their work and want to reap the benefits, which includes a little taste-testing!
In the end, children will eat when they get hungry enough. The key to learning how to help picky eaters expand their range of desired foods is to continually be creative, be willing to compromise, and knowing that there is a fine line between picky eating and plain old stubborness!
Thanks for sharing these great ideas!