I have two kids, both boys, fairly close in age, yet, they are very different. One is fearless, independent and loves to bang on the drums all day. The other, no so much! What’s also different is their love, or lack-there-of, of food. You can put my younger son in a high-chair and he can sit there and eat all day long. My older son would be fine if he didn’t eat all day (except for the occasional treat and milk of course).
So while it may be easy to feed my younger son, I have to use some creative ways to feed my preschooler. Some of my “tricks and tips” for feeding a picky eater are:
- Including him in the decision process of what we should eat. I usually give him two or three options for breakfast and lunch, and I’ll make whatever he decides.
- I let him help me make the food. When he feels responsible for making his food, he’s more likely to finish eating everything on his plate.
- We have a rule in our house: ‘you eat until you’re full because you know your body best’. So it’s okay if you don’t finish everything you were served. However, no food will be served, no matter how hungry you are, until the next meal (or the next morning if we’re eating dinner).
- No dessert until they finish their meal.
- I serve the food to my son on fun, kid-friendly feeding sets.
One of our newest serving dishes include this super cute iMonster feeding set from Nuby. As soon as I brought it home my son wanted to use it immediately. This was music to my ears. I filled up the snack box, the sippy cup and quickly rushed to make dinner.
Together with Nuby, one lucky Mayahood blog reader will receive their own iMonster feeding set (which includes the plate, cup, snack keeper and utensils ~$23 value). Enter the giveaway via Rafflecopter below (please give it a few seconds to load). Contest is open to Canadians. Contest ends Tuesday, April 15, 2014. Good-luck!
try mixing certain veges or meats with the foods they do love. ie mushrooms in spag sauce
Let your child help with the menu planning! Even better, let them help prepare the food and they’ll be more likely to eat it!
I involve my son with food prep. If he helps, he’s more apt to eat it!
My son loves to help cook and bake. We also just keep trying! And have fairh thst he will eat when he’s hungry!! We also have a shekf in the fridge with snacks ready for him that he can see and choose.
Don’t give up. Something they don’t like one day they might try tomorrow.
Cut food into fun shapes. It’s fun to play with your food. lol
i leave out platters for the kids they seem to do better nibbling then eating big meals
I just try to offer an assortment of good foods and *hope* that he eats at least some of it.
I love this set — it’s so cute! What works for my son sometimes is if he doesn’t like something I let him see his older sister eating it and then sometimes he’ll want what she has, lol.
I like that rule to eat only what you can, but nothing more afterwards.
My daughter loves to help cook and bake.I have learned over time to use the blender to mix up veggies and other food she dislikes and add to meals
My daughter likes to chipmunk her meat in her cheeks. I try to cut it finely and mix it in with pasta or soup etc. so it is disguised and she eats it!
be consistent with picky eaters, offer rewards and keep trying!
I just encourage them to try it but never force it
I like to cut up fruits and veggies into fun shapes.
Keep trying. Just keep offering it and hopefully they will eventually try it and like it.
My son has found that he usually likes new foods when he tries them, but if he doesn’t like them I don’t push him to eat them. I don’t force myself to eat foods I don’t like!
I just have a rule that they must try at least one bite of everything served.
set a good example as a parent – show them that you try new foods too!
Try sneaking in foods they don’t like in an inventive,way…. my son love zucchini now that I told him it is, in fact, the secret recipe in my chocolate cake. True story! It makes the cake delicious and moist
I need tips for picky eaters lol. My son is horrible when it comes to eating at home, he eats just fine anywhere else we are but supper time is a huge hurdle at our house. So far I have found that making it fun and a little game is working. I have also found that sneaking in the foods my son does not like (like vegetables) into smoothies for supper works amazing! He will eat his meat and potatoes but when it comes to anything green he wont touch it. But he loves smoothies I add a banana or strawberry in the smoothie and mix it up with things like spinach, zuchinni or Kale while he is not watching.
Best is to mix picky eaters with non-picky eater kids. They are little copy cats!
I just love these dishes!! They are adorable!
I make all dishes from scratch so I can hide the Veggies in them…
Let them help prepare meals!
I love to cook and bake and so preparing foods together is a big part of the fun in our home. We try out cute new ideas to make our meals more enticing, and go grocery shopping together where we each get to pick out something new that we’ve never tried before. It doesn’t always work (some foods just are an acquired taste!) but it definitely makes eating seem like a fun activity rather than a boring chore.
I would just not make a huge deal out of it. The more fuss made, the more they will fuss. I also wouldn’t make special meals that are different than the family meals, or you become a short order cook.
I have four picky eaters and I just try to be low-key and not make meal-time stressful. I offer and re-offer new foods in the hopes they will be tried someday :).
My tip is to place the food in a design on the plate. Create a funny face or a horse, anything! It’ll be a lot more fun to eat.
Thanks!
It depends on the age. When they are super young, make it as fun as possible. But I think once they are old enough sit at the table, they must eat what is given to them! I know a few people that make 2-4 different dinners every night. That really makes meal/family time not fun!
We have tried lots of variety and involving our daughter in the food prep from as long as she could stand up on a stool at the counter. We try to ensure there is at least something we know she likes but then the rest may be new and generally she will try it and we don’t stress too much.
Yes I have picky eaters