• Feeding the Family

  • A child who won’t eat the food you make can make it hard to feed the family, and chances are, if you’re child has narrowed his or her palate to only a handful of foods, your child isn’t covering all the basic food groups. Dealing with a picky eater may mean putting in a bit of extra work, but there are workarounds for every meal of the day. Try building a plan to pinpoint the foods in each food group that your child is willing to eat, and then, slowly start introducing new foods. Get creative!

    Roll Out the Meal Time Rules – This might be a collection of expectations of what foods are to be eaten and how much, or it could be general rules about eating meals together and engaging in family time over a meal. But whatever meal time rules you instigate for your family, ensure they follow a common goal of encouraging healthy eating habits.

    Cook a Meal Together – Once per week, plan a meal with your picky eater, and let him or her have a hand in the cooking process. If your kids see how a food is prepared and take part in preparing it, they not only feel more comfortable with the foods themselves, but they will take pride in eating the food they helped prepare.

    Make a Plan to Try New Foods – Talk to your picky eater about what new he or she would be willing to try. Be detailed about how they taste and try to compare them with foods they already like. You should make a goal to have your picky eater try at least one new food per week, and then revisit those foods at future meal times.

    Try Family Gardening – This is comparable to cooking together in that your children will take pride in eating the foods they’ve helped grow. If you don’t have room for a full outdoor garden, a kitchen herb garden works just as well. Get your picky eater involved in the growing to help expand his or her palate.