Dealing with Picky Eaters
If one of your children is a picky eater, you may be
struggling to figure out what to put on the table as well as worrying about your
child's health. Often, toddlers are reknowned for being fussy eaters, but
there are plenty of adults who are choosy about what they eat. You can
find ways to satisfy your child without having to cook two different meals for
your family every day.
First, be sure to offer the food to your child on
several occasions. Your child may have to see a food ten times before he
or she will consider the food familiar enough to give it a try. And, if
your child hated a particular food as a preschooler, you may find that his or
her tastes have changed several years later if you offer the food again.
You may even discover a formally shunned food is now your child's
favorite. Kids tend to become more adventurous in their eating as they get
older.
Try making food fun for your kids. Drawing a
smiley face with the syrup on a pancake or cutting a sandwich into fun shapes
can pique your child's interest in the food. Choose brightly colored foods
and try creatively arranging the different foods on the plate to catch your
child's attention.
Involve your picky eater in meal preparation.
Even a toddler can help stir batter and tweens and teens could actually
learn to cook a complete meal. Often, a child is more likely to try
different foods if they have participated in making them.
Be sure that your child sees you eating a wide variety
of foods and at least trying unknown foods. If a parent has a very limited
reperatoire of foods they will consume, the child is likely to follow suit,
resulting in two fussy eaters. Serve foods that you don't like
occasionally as you may find that your child actually likes those brussel
sprouts that you despise. Don't limit your child's diet to only the foods
that you prefer.
If your child rebels against eating the meal that
you've prepared, offer the option of something easy to prepare such as a peanut
butter sandwich or cereal and milk. Refuse to cook separate meals for
different family members. Your time is limited enough as a single parent
without becoming a short-order cook.
Avoid turning eating into a power struggle. If
your child doesn't want to try a food, leave it on his or her plate, but don't
require the child to eat it. You can certainly encourage the child to take
a small bite, but punishing the child for not trying the food could put your
child on the path to an eating disorder later in life.
Remember that children come in many shapes and sizes.
You may worry about a skinny fussy eater with numerous ribs showing, but
this could be the norm for that particular child. If he or she is healthy
and energetic, enough food is getting into the child's body. You could
also check height and growth charts at your pediatrician's office to confirm
that your child is growing normally. Many picky eaters become bottomless
pits when they reach adolescence, and you may find yourself wishing for the
lower food bills of their younger years.
Fussy eaters can make mealtime difficult. Save
yourself stress and time by following the above strategies for dealing with
picky eaters.
