Life is quite stressful when you have to deal with a picky eater at home. Daily you stand in your kitchen wondering what to prepare and if they will eat it. The power battles during meal times are driving you one step close to the grave too. Having little children that are picky eaters is not unusual. Many parents are in the same boat. I’ve been told that the fussiness over food will disappear when the children get older. But waiting it out isn’t really going to help you now. So, here are some tips to overcome their pickiness:

1. Let them plan meals and go grocery shopping with you. If you give them the chance to write the dinner menu, you increase the likelihood that they will eat it.

2. Be careful of the snacks they eat before meals. You can’t blame them if they say no to meals when they just had a snack to filled them up. Apart from the snacks, limit the drinks too. Don’t underestimate the filling power of juice and milk.

3. Avoid giving them too much at the first serving. Give smaller portions and if they can eat more, let them have seconds. Doing so, you create opportunities for them to finish their meal and they feel good when they do so.

4. Employ their little hands to prepare the food. The fact that they helped to cook it, motivates them to want to eat it. For instance, while preparing dinner, I persuaded my daughter who is 7 years old to help me chop up the broccoli and cauliflower. What do you reckon happened next? She eagerly put them on her plate and finished it and we’re talking about a girl who straight out refused them before.

5. Present to them 2 types of foods to choose. Make them feel the decision is in their hands. You should say “do you want pasta or sandwich”, “fruit salad or vegetable salad” etc….

6. Learn to make snacks that are nutritional. Fruits and vegetables are ideal. Prepare them as finger foods like carrot sticks and dip.

7. Bring to their attention what foods other children are eating, more so what their friends are eating. Do you notice that your children are always more interested in eating other people’s food then yours? Their friends could be eating something they’ve never had before but they are willing to try. Maybe you should consider inviting your children’s friends over more often. If you do this, make a pact with the parents first that only healthy food will be served.

8. Sometimes it’s not the taste that is the problem but rather the texture of the food. If this is the case, prepare the food in a different way; like making bananas into a smoothie, or sneak in carrots into your muffins.

9. Labeling them as a picker eater can be detrimental. Hearing you make a big deal of it all the time may encourage them to play out the role.

10. Decide that you will not cook them a separate meal. Yes, you suggest a choice of foods to them but it’s not something different from the family menu. If you give in to their demands, you’ll never get them to expand their list of like-able foods.

Dealing with picky eaters requires much patience. It may prove to be a difficult challenge but you must strive to keep meal times a happy time. Talk to the children about meal time rules and enforce them consistently. One thing that will also help is to search out easy recipes for picky eaters. It definitely helps to get a little creative in preparing meals.

Tags: children, home, kids, Parenting, picky eater, picky eaters