Do you have a toddler who only eats one item – and one item only? Is she a macaroni ‘n cheese lover? Or is he a devourer of chicken nuggets, chicken nuggets and more chicken nuggets? Tempting the picky eater can feel like a full-time job (and then some) to parents trying to instill healthy eating habits in their child.
Here are 6 tactics parents can try to get their picky eater to taste something new.
Refuse to be a short order cook.
You’ve made dinner, but now your picky eater insists you make something new for him. Say no. If your child doesn’t eat the prepared dinner, he can have nothing. If the fear your child will starve is overwhelming, allow him to eat something simple that doesn’t involve cooking an entire new meal, like an apple or banana.
Include one food item the picky eater likes.
Instead of a showdown over every item on the plate, try to incorporate one item that you know your child will eat. This way you don’t have to worry that she’ll be hungry, and you can save your energy and battle for getting the picky eater to try at least one new thing.
Institute the “try-one-bite” rule.
It can take ten tries or more before a child likes a particular food so encourage the picky eater to take at least one bite. He doesn’t have to like it, he doesn’t have to eat the whole thing – but he must have at least one bite before he's allowed to express his negative opinion.
Keep it on the plate anyway.
So, your child doesn’t want to eat the broccoli and insists that it be taken off the plate. Don’t give in! At a minimum, she can get used to seeing it on the plate and the idea of broccoli being on the plate. Who knows? Once everyone leaves her alone, she may try to sneak a taste of the vegetable everyone else at the table insists tastes so good.
Vary the dining location.
Make meals new, exciting and fun by moving them to a new room. For example, turn a lego table into a “kids’ dinner table.” If the weather’s nice, move the meal outside for a picnic (or, if the weather isn’t cooperating, move it indoors on a blanket on the family room floor).
Deconstruct the meal.
Perhaps the time to push salad, with its combination of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and other vegetables, is when your child is a bit older not when she’s in the throes of picky eating. Try separating the parts of the salad into a colorful arrangement of vegetables, with a side of dressing a child can use as dip.