Question) How can I get my child to stop being picky about her food?

Answer) Infant feeding patterns affect taste preferences for longer than we think. As children begin to transition to table food it’s essential to begin introducing a variety of healthy food items with different tastes and textures. For an older child whose eating habits are already established it’s a little bit harder to encourage them to eat different things. However, it is possible to change that with a few simple steps!

• Eliminate random snacking. An average child should have three large meals and one small snack through the course of the day
• Meals should be well balanced with regular intervals in between so their body expects food at a similar time each day
• Establish a rule where they cannot access food or snacks from the fridge or cupboards without your permission and explain that snacks may ruin their appetite for dinner.
• Avoid feeding children on the go (i.e. in cars, parks or strollers) and don’t fall in to the trap of distracting children with electronics.  
• Encourage children to sit down at a table to eat without getting up until everyone is finished and make mealtimes fun.
• Shift the focus off the food. Focus instead on the conversation about their day or anything else they want to talk about.
• Give children at least two options on their plate with one item being something they like.
• Serve realistic portions and allow them to tell them you when they are full.
• Be sure to serve whatever it is the adults are eating that day. Eat with the children whenever possible and model behavior—kids like to copy adults.
• If a child does not like a particular food item, don’t be deterred from presenting it again a few days later. Often, children don’t want to try something new but familiarity will encourage them to be a little more adventurous.
• Create a rule where they have to try at least one bite and can choose to not eat the rest if they don’t like it.
• Be wary of providing alternatives just to get them to eat something. They will soon begin to accept that these are the only choices available and be more amenable to eating to what’s presented.
• Talk to your children about how eating right can help them become stronger, be more energetic, run faster, kick a ball harder etc.

The key element is to not allow feeding to become a power struggle where the parent is bribing a child to eat. As long as the child does not have any nutritional issues and is more energetic than you at the end of the day, he or she is probably getting enough calories. Remember you are instilling a lifelong habit of eating well and that requires patience and discipline!

For more techniques and suggestions on discipline see the previous posts below and the parenting blog at Building Healthy Minds and Happy Families.

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