The “Picky Eaters” phase is something that many of us parents are all too familiar with. By two years old, 50% of children in the United States are considered picky eaters by their caregivers. My two boys, at one time, fell into that category. Lucky for me, they have outgrown that phase and will now eat pretty much anything I put in front of them. In hopes of helping other families who are struggling with this issue, I have compiled this list of my top 5 helpful tips for dealing with picky eaters.
1. Stick with a routine when it comes to mealtimes.
Children should be fed breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as a morning and afternoon snack. This will ensure that your child isn’t snacking too much in between meals and will actually be hungry when it’s time to eat.
2. Keep your child’s mealtime portions small.
A plate full of food can be overwhelming to a child. Once your child finishes what is on their plate, they can ask for more if they’re still hungry. Don’t ever force your child to finish everything on their plate. If they’re hungry, they will eat!
3.When introducing a new food, be sure to serve it with some of your child’s favorites.
In my home, I tell my boys that they don’t have to eat the new food but they do have to try it before they tell me that they don’t like it. 9 times out of 10, they end up liking it and asking for more. If they genuinely do not like the new food after trying it, they do not have to eat it. That doesn’t mean that I won’t serve it again. With children, you have to be persistent. What they don’t like today, could be their new obsession a week from now. I would encourage you to wait a week or two, then try the new food again. It can take up to a dozen tries before a child accepts a new food.
4. Give your picky eaters some control over what they’re eating.
Go shopping together and let your picky eaters pick out some fruits and veggies they would like to try. Growing a garden is another way to engage them in deciding what they want to try. This year, my boys and I picked out a bunch of seeds and grew our first garden. This was my first time ever gardening and I may have gone a little overboard. We planted a bunch of everything in hopes that something would grow. To our surprise, the entire garden took off. We had sugar snap peas, lettuce, spinach, kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, carrots, onions, and a strawberry patch! The boys truly enjoyed watching everything grow and they thoroughly enjoyed eating it all! This is actually how I was able to get them to eat squash!
5. My absolute favorite tip for dealing with Picky Eaters is Make Mealtimes Fun! There are a number of ways you can do this. They are as follows:
Of course, making some creative food art out of your meals is one way but that can be pretty time consuming. I usually do this for breakfast and snacks and the boys do really love it so I would say it’s worth the extra time it takes.- Make sure your meals are super colorful and bright. Fruits and vegetables come in so many beautiful colors so this should be pretty easy to do, especially since fruits and veggies should make up half of your child’s meal.
- Serve meals on fun themed plates of your child’s favorite characters or colors. Our favorite plates are made by Zak Designs. They are great quality and super cute! Best of all, they stack together perfectly so I don’t have to worry about an avalanche of mismatched children’s plates crashing down on me every time I open my cupboards!
- In my experience as an early childhood educator and a mom, children love to eat foods served on a stick! It used to be that toothpicks and wooden skewers were the only way to serve food this way, and unfortunately those items can be pretty dangerous in the hands of a young child. Lucky for you, there is now a “child safe toothpick” available – Pick-Ease! I created Pick-Ease specifically for picky eaters and designed it in a way that would take all the dangers out of giving a child a traditional toothpick. From its fun, rounded top with cartoon designs to its easy-to-grip, chunky handle, it fits perfectly in any child’s hand. Pick-Ease also works with all different types of food. You can use it on your child’s favorite foods or even to introduce new foods! It’s an ideal tool for the pickiest of eaters, but provides a fun eating experience for all children.
- My final “Make Mealtimes Fun” tip is this: Sit down and eat together as a family. Turn the tv off, put your phone down, and walk away from your computer. Sit with your children and make mealtimes a way to connect with the ones you love. Talk about their day, laugh together, and make memories. Our children grow up entirely way too fast and eventually they will be done with this picky eater phase. Be patient with them. You will get through this… I promise!
