Most of us have had to deal with picky eaters! They will only eat green food or maybe they want a diet that consists of ONLY chicken nuggets. A friend of mine said her daughter spent 6 months saying she only wanted pink food since this was her favorite color. Obviously, we want our children to eat what we serve them, and we especially want them to eat healthy food that will fuel their growing bodies and minds. Here are some tips on how to deal with your picky eater. If you have any tips, feel free to share them with us! Draw a line and stick to it! If you say "3 more bites" then it has to be 3 more bites. No exceptions. Even if it takes 2 hours. You don't want your child to see any weakness, because then you will no longer have authority when it comes to meal time. Along those lines, try for just a few bites. Sometimes they will realize they like the food after those bites. Even if they don't, some nutrition is better than none! Avoid giving substitutions for foods. Don't make the whole family one meal and then give your picky eater something else. This will send the message that it is okay not to eat certain foods. This will also set a precedent you may not want to continue. Refer to the other tips for ways to encourage eating some not-so-favorite foods. Disguise foods. Here's an idea: fruit smoothies with added veggies (you can't even taste spinach when mixed with strawberries and bananas). Have them help with the shopping. Ask them to pick out a vegetable they want to try. They will be more willing to eat it if they feel they had control over their choices. Let them help with the cooking. When they are the chef, they will want to eat the foods. Of course, keep in mind that this is only for some of our older picky eaters. Limit snacks and juices/milk between meals. If they aren't hungry, they will be less likely to try something new. Make eating fun. Give the foods funny names, like calling broccoli trees. You can also have a picnic on the floor. Making meal time an adventure will make them focus on something else besides the food they do not want to eat.
