Feeding Picky Eaters {TIPsters}

Make sure you visit Kristin & Christy for their thoughts on today’s topic, as well as our guest TIPster, Mindy @ Sweetness in the Small Stuff.



Let me just start with a disclaimer, okay?  Most people would not consider any of our kids picky eaters. However, we have experienced seasons when our kids displayed picky behaviors, so we do have a little experience. Here are our Top Ten suggestions for feeding picky eaters: 1. Try to build your meal plan around the healthy foods they will actually eat. Everyone likes to feel that their opinions matter, including your kids. Give them a say by having them list all of the foods they do like. Then try to incorporate tried and true favorites along with new foods. 2. Get your kids involved in preparing meals. Our kids all love to help in the kitchen! And taste testing is a great way to let your kids try new foods in a non-confrontational way. 3. Make mealtime fun. Sit down together and give your kids your attention. Talk about their day and enjoy your time together. (Young kids also love pretending they are animals as they gobble down their food; chew your carrot like a rabbit, eat your meat like a T-Rex, you get the point.)
4. Offer variety, but don’t fix separate foods for your child. You are not a short order cook, but kids will continue to do what works for them. If you’ve catered to their demands in the past it’ll take a while to convince them that you’ve changed your ways—wait them out. Eventually, they’ll eat (more of) what’s offered. 5. Have them eat the less desirable foods first. Our children will generally all eat a green salad, but I don’t know many children that would choose a salad over pasta. So, the whole family eats our salads first, before the pasta is even brought to the table. As a bonus it also feels like we’re having a fancy meal :) 6. Help them eat it. This rule only really applies to toddlers, but we’ve found that many times when our toddlers have refused to eat a certain food, a little extra attention and help from Mom or Dad was all it took to get the food in their mouth. 7. Realize that your child will eat when they are hungry. I think, for the most part, children are very aware of their own need for food and will eventually eat when they are hungry. On occasion we have sent children away from the table hungry, but it’s only happened a handful of times and our kids have always been ready to eat what was prepared at the next meal.  8. Don’t give snacks if they haven’t eaten what’s offered. This goes along with the last point, but really, if I knew I could skip the peas but still have cookies after dinner, I’d probably do it, too. This also goes for healthy snacks.  9. Set an expectation of what they will eat—and stick to it! Decide with your spouse or with your child what they will need to eat at each meal. This may be a certain number of bites, trying everything offered, or eating a serving of at least one vegetable, whatever it is, set up your expectations and then stick to them. This Dinner Adventure Sticker Chart might be a good place to start if you’re dealing with a really picky child. 10. Present new foods several times. Children will often “dislike” a food simply because it’s new. Keep offering it until you’re convinced they simply don’t like it. Then come back to it after a while to see if their tastes have changed. linking to Top Ten Tuesday...and check out all the other blog parties we like to join

Today's Questions: What tips do you have for feeding picky eaters?

(Any advice for kids with the opposite problem, who eat everything in site, even three-day old crumbs out of their little sister’s booster seat or peanut butter off of their sibling’s face?)

Please visit my fellow TIPsters:

Kristin @ Bits & Pieces from my Life and 

Christy @ A Living Homeschool, 

and our guest TIPster,  Mindy @ Sweetness in the Small Stuff 

for more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade.

Coming Soon:

June 19: Television Viewing (What & How Often)
July 3: Quick and Easy Summer Meals
July 17: Taking Family Photos

August 7: Schooling Kids of Different Ages

August 21: Teaching Kids to Read

(Remember if you'd like to guest host an upcoming TIPster post, just let me know.)

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