Mealtimes with picky eaters can be both frustrating and worrisome. Try to remember that it’s your job, as the parent, to provide a variety of healthy foods for your kids in age-appropriate servings, and it’s their job, as the kids, to decide what and how much to eat. It’s not an easy task! So here are some other tricks to try.
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1. Pair new foods with familiar ones.
If your toddler loves ketchup but isn’t sure about brussels sprouts, pull off the leaves of one sprout to make it easier for your toddler to dip and eat..
2. Serve one food item at each meal that you know your kids like.
Kids build on the foods they know best.
3. Start small!
Want to introduce spinach? Start with one tiny leaf and work up from there.
4. Use positive peer pressure.
Kids are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables if they see their parents eat them, and they tend to prefer foods they see other kids eat.
5. Ditch the “clean your plate.”
Nobody likes to be forced to eat. When kids learn what “full” feels like and decide when to stop eating on their own, they are more likely to maintain a healthy relationship with food over the long-term.
6. Don’t give up!
You may have heard that it can take between 10-15 tries with a new food before kids will eat it. So hang in there!
7. Schedule mealtimes.
Plan for three meals a day and two snacks at pretty consistent times. This helps to ensure your kids will be hungry when it’s time to eat, making it more likely they’ll try new foods that are offered.
8. Offer age-appropriate portions.
Little kids, little tummies: offer about a tablespoon of each food for each year of your child’s age. If you have a two-year-old, you would offer two tablespoons of each food served.
9. Let the meal end.
Mealtimes for toddlers and preschoolers shouldn’t be longer than 15-20 minutes.
10. Give fruits and veggies fun names.
It’s not just broccoli, it’s power punch broccoli! And strawberries are super strawberries, of course.
11. Make mealtime a positive experience.
Turn off screens. Talk to one another. Tell stories. Ask each other questions.
12. Food prep is fun—give your kids a way to help!
The more kids touch and help prepare foods (especially fruits and veggies), the more likely they are to choose them later as a snack.
*Adapted from ZERO TO THREE