Managing a picky eater is often very frustrating for parents. But it’s important to understand that picky eating is normal and quite common amongst young children. This is a natural occurrence that many other parents like yourself have had to deal with. And stressing about your child being a picky eater can actually make it worse, as kids can pick up on your distress, which can then cause them to get stressed.
Still, your child does need to eat. While you don’t want to stress them out or force them to eat, there are things you can do to better manage the situation and potentially help them overcome their aversion to certain foods.
Set a Good Example
One of the best ways to encourage your child to eat healthy foods is to set a good example. Children tend to look up to their parents as role models and will mimic their actions and behaviors.
If you want to inspire your child to eat healthy foods, you should do the same. If you’re going snacking frequently and eating unhealthy foods at mealtime, your child will want to do the same. If you show them how much you genuinely enjoy eating healthy foods and talk about how it’s good for the body, they will be more likely to follow your lead.
Include Your Child in Meal Prep
When planning and prepping meals, get your child involved. Waiting until lunch or dinner is served to call them to the table creates a disconnect between themselves and the food placed in front of them. If you let them participate in its preparation, kids have time to grow familiar with the food being prepared. This can help them understand that it’s not gross or going to hurt them — it’s just food.
Getting your child involved is also a fun experience for them! This allows them to bond with you and helps them feel like they have some autonomy over what they eat. When planning meals, let them make some decisions about what the meals will be and take them with you when you go grocery shopping. When you’re cooking, let them help out. Talk to them about the foods you’re prepping, why you’re preparing them in a certain way, and why that meal is good for your body.
Avoid Food Trauma
Food trauma is a common cause of children becoming picky eaters or developing an aversion to a certain food. Force-feeding, for example, is not advised as it can create very negative and traumatic associations with food and meal time. If your child doesn’t want to eat something, don’t force them.
Additionally, if your child gets food poisoning after eating a certain food, this can also trigger negative associations and create trauma related to meals. Of course, you never know when food is going to cause your child to get sick. Sometimes these things just happen, no matter how careful you are.
Still, it’s crucial to do what you can to reduce the chance of getting food poisoning. Always cook your food to the correct temperature. Be sure to clean all food contact surfaces appropriately to avoid cross-contamination. TIP. Ultimately, the more you can reduce the chances of your child getting sick, the more you can avoid them developing a food trauma.
Make Meal Time Enjoyable
Making mealtime about more than just eating is a great way to help kids develop healthy eating habits. If you make mealtime a fun experience, your child will create more positive associations with food that get them excited to sit down and enjoy a meal.
Try to make dinner a family event where you focus on each other. This is also a time when you can bond and connect more with your child, so take advantage of that. Have fun and engaging conversations when you sit down for meals, encourage your child to talk about their day and the things they like, and talk about things that make them smile and laugh.
Don’t Let Them Fill Up on Unhealthy Snacks
While you shouldn’t necessarily restrict your child from snacking altogether, it’s unwise to let them snack too much or to snack on foods that aren’t good for them. Junk food can be addicting, and kids can easily start preferring unhealthy foods if they’re eaten frequently.
When it comes to snacking, it’s essential to stick to a routine. Let them have their snack at their usual time, even if they didn’t eat much at breakfast or lunch. Just try to prioritize healthy foods for snacking, even when you’re on the go.
If they didn’t eat enough healthy foods at meal time, snack time is a great way to sneak in nutritious treats. However, even if it’s a healthy snack, like fruit and peanut butter, it’s still important to avoid letting them fill up on it. If they eat big snacks, they won’t be hungry come lunch or dinner time.
Don’t Make Separate Meals For Your Child
From an early age, it’s helpful to cook the same meals for your child as you do for yourself. Making separate meals for them can often encourage them to develop picky eating habits because it shows them that they are allowed to eat something different from others.
If there’s something you know that they genuinely won’t eat, offer them an alternative, but try not to make significant exceptions. Make what you were planning. If they won’t eat it, don’t try to force them, but don’t make them something different instead.
Get Creative with Veggies
Vegetables are a common problem with kids; however, sometimes, it’s just about the way they look or their texture. Finding creative ways to incorporate them into meals, like mixing them with other foods, serving them with tasty sauces, or arranging them in a fun way on the plate.
Get Your Child Involved When Dining Out
Dining out with picky eaters can be challenging, especially when you want to go somewhere nice. However, getting them involved in choosing a restaurant can help them get excited about food, just like when they get involved in meal planning. Pick a few restaurants, show your child the menus, and ask which place they’d like to go to.
This shows them that you care about their opinion and that they have a choice, rather than forcing them to always go where you want to. If there are times when you can’t let them choose, you should still let them know where you are going ahead of time. Let them look at the menu so they can get comfortable with it and pick out something that looks good to them.
Final Thoughts: Be Patient
If there is one final tip for picky eaters to take away from all of this, it’s to have patience. Picky eating is normal and is not something you should stress about or make your child feel bad about. The more you push them or try to force them, the more they will push back. Do your best to work with your child, not against them, and make mealtime a positive experience.
