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Whether you have teens or toddlers, having a selective eater is a challenge. Some days it’s tempting to let your picky eater survive on a diet of beige food. Two of my four kids were super picky when it came to trying new food.
There are a few strategies you can try with your kids if you have picky eaters to encourage them to expand their palates. Let’s dive in.
Patience and Persistence With Your Selective Eater
Patience is your greatest ally when dealing with selective eaters. Understand that it may take time for your child to warm up to new foods. Continue to offer a variety of foods, even if they reject them initially. Research shows that it can take up to 15 exposures to a new food before a child accepts it, so don’t give up.
Salt and Nugget were selective eaters. Their diets consisted of beige foods. They resisted anything with a color or that grows out of the ground.
Eventually, after tirelessly offering new foods, Nugget became less resistant to trying a bite. I would tell them to just take one bite. One non-commital bite. There were hundreds, possibly thousands of non-commital bites over the years.
Nugget now eats a variety of foods and no longer exclusively orders from the children’s menu in restaurants. Salt eats more foods than he did and every day, he surprises me with his willingness to eat something new. By “new,” I’m not talking about him eating grilled octopus. I mean, he’s evolved enough recently to try a taco.
Don’t give up hope. It might take years, but persistence and patience pay off.
Lead by Example
Children often mimic the eating habits of their parents and others around them. Show enthusiasm for trying new foods and savoring healthy options. Make mealtimes a positive and enjoyable family experience.
While Salt and Nugget were committed to their diet of beige-only foods, Kissy and Starlie ate and tried almost anything I served. Meals in the Chaos Kingdom are a 50/50 gamble.
I’m a big fan of family dinners. I know in today’s society, family dinners may seem like something from your grandma’s era. There are lots of reasons I insist on family dinners, but we’ll get into that another day.
As far as getting your kid to eat, remember that your children are watching you and taking cues from you. When you sit down together to eat, they see you eating new and healthy foods. Kids often want to try what they see us eating. They may spit out that asparagus you’re enjoying, but their willingness to try it with you is a big step in expanding their palates.
The easiest way for your children to mimic your eating habits is to sit down with them and offer them the same meal you’re eating, in whole or in part.
Get Your Selective Eater Involved In The Kitchen
Engage your selective eater in the meal preparation process. Let them pick out fruits or veggies at the grocery store, wash vegetables, or help with simple cooking tasks. When children have a hand in making a meal, they often feel more connected to the food and are more willing to try it.
I love to cook and bake. I come from a large family of Italians who also love to cook and bake. It’s in our blood.
So it was an easy transition for me to involve my kids in that process. If you love to cook and try new recipes, involving your kids will be an easy extension of who you already are. If you don’t cook much, there are still easy ways to get your kids involved in food preparation. These don’t require a culinary degree or a big Italian family upbringing to accomplish.
Even young toddlers can help wash produce and stir and mix ingredients. Pre-schoolers can help measure and pour. They can knead pizza dough. With proper supervision, kids can handle a knife and cook at the stovetop or prepare food to go into the oven.
Be prepared for a little mess. Or a not-so-little mess. Things can escalate quickly when kids are involved in the kitchen! It’s part of the process. Involving the tiny humans in the process teaches them ownership and when tots feel invested, they tend to be willing to taste their creations.
I always had kid-friendly kitchen tools for my kids to help prepare meals. Providing your child with kid-safe knives and other kitchen tools encourages them to participate. My kids had little kid-sized aprons to wear to keep them reasonably clean and a stool to reach the countertops so they could help prepare snacks and meals. You can grab some of my favorite tools and supplies here and get cooking with your kids!
These kid-safe little choppers are perfect for younger kids and beginners. The handle has a secure grip and they’re easy to use.
These knives are plastic, so there’s no dangerous blade for young chefs. This set is complete with all the things your kiddo needs to help cut and peel with your supervision.
Sandwiches cut into fun shapes are always a hit with even the pickiest kids. I always let my kids choose their shape and cut their sandwiches. It just makes a regular sandwich more fun to eat. This set also comes with small cutters that are great for cutting fruits and veggies into shapes. I’m pretty sure I still have these in a drawer in my kitchen.
Every little chef needs an apron to stay reasonably clean. This one can be personalized and comes in a ton of colors to suit your child’s self-expression. With four littles, we had personalized aprons. It made cooking together more of an experience than a chore. I still have those too!
If you have a kid who doesn’t like their food touching its neighbors on the plate, this is a must-have. Nugget could not tolerate any of her beige foods touching, so we always had cute plates with compartments. Yes, I still have them, so don’t judge! My husband also doesn’t like anything touching on his plate, so I’m not surprised. If you’re wondering, no, he does not use the kiddie plates.
Your kiddo will need to reach the counter to help prepare food. For safety, please don’t allow your child to sit on the counter. A stool like this one will enable your tiny helper to see and reach the counter safely. This one has safety rails on all sides, making it a solid choice if you have young children eager to prepare food with you.
Apparently, it’s also good if your kid is going to wash some dishes. I’m all about teaching life skills at a young age.
All of my kids can cook. Even the picky, beige food kids are evolving as cooks and willing to prepare new foods. Nugget recently whipped up a pumpkin ravioli dish that looked amazing and Salt, well, he just graduated to tacos, but he’s more open-minded about food every day.
I’m pretty sure they’ve evolved as much as they have because they were involved in food prep from a very young age. Kissy and Starlie have definitely developed an appreciation for food and cooking because of their involvement. Nugget is willing to experiment and Salt, well, he’s eating tacos. I’ll take the win.
Set A Schedule for Your Selective Eater
Establish regular meal and snack times to help regulate your child’s appetite. Avoid too many snacks close to mealtime, as this can lead to a lack of interest in the main meal.
Structuring mealtimes and being consistent is really important for tiny humans, especially if you have a picky eater. To read more about why and how to structure meals and snacks, click here.
Pay Attention To Your Child’s Cues
Pay attention to your child’s preferences. What do they enjoy eating, and when? Understanding their likes and dislikes can help you tailor meals to their taste while gradually introducing new foods.
Serve something you know your child will eat, while introducing something new. I always make sure there is at least one thing being served that my picky eaters will eat. Build on what already works and add new foods gradually. Introducing several new foods at once is overwhelming for everyone involved.
It’s also important to know when your child eats the best during the day and use that opportunity to introduce a new food. Salt wasn’t a huge fan of dinner when he was younger. He would come to the family dinner table and sit with us, but he didn’t have a huge appetite at that meal.
By paying attention to Salt’s eating habits during the day, I knew that dinner just wasn’t his best meal. Instead of trying to coax him to eat, I made sure that I offered him the best choices during the day, so he’d be nutritionally balanced.
Seek Professional Guidance
It’s not uncommon for kids to go through picky eating stages. I remember when Nugget’s elementary school had a picnic. I was friends with the mom organizing it. We laughed at how Nugget wouldn’t eat anything that day except bread. She survived.
If you’re concerned about your child’s limited diet impacting their health or growth, consider consulting a pediatrician or a registered dietitian who specializes in child nutrition. They can provide personalized guidance and ensure your child is getting the nutrients they need.
Dealing with a selective eater can be challenging, but it’s not an insurmountable task. By approaching mealtimes with patience, creativity, and a positive attitude, you can gradually expand your child’s palate and make mealtime a more enjoyable experience for the entire family. Remember that each child is unique, and what works for one may not work for another. Be adaptable, and most importantly, savor the journey of exploring new flavors and foods together as a family.
If you have a selective eater, we’d love to hear from you. What are some strategies that worked for you to entice your tiny humans to eat? Drop a comment below.
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One Comment
Nicole
Love this article, as a picky eater I agree with everything that was said. This was very helpful and had a ton of great ideas.