Child Diet: 5 Quick Tips To Cure A Picky Eater

One of the most frustrating things for a parent is having a child who is a picky eater. It’s a very common problem to have, but it can cause a lot of stress in the family. Sometimes it centers around the cost and labor of preparing a meal and then seeing it rejected.

It can also make a parent fell helpless because you feel your child isn’t eating enough of the right kind of healthy foods. And last, but not least, it can be frustrating for the child, who feels picked upon because he or she is never eating “right”.

Picky eating is something that should be cured, since poor eating habits as a child will often last through the adult years. What are some of the causes of picky eating?

Well sometimes your child will just not be hungry at a mealtime – unlike adults who have been trained to sit down for their three squares, children have an appetite more in tune with their actual hunger – if they have had enough of their snack an hour or so ago, the dinner time meal may have no appeal to them.

Of course there can be the other scenario – your son or daughter is hungry, but still refuses to eat what you have made for the family.

So how can you get cure a picky eater? It will take patience and understanding from you and the realization that there may no overnight solution. Different solutions will work better with different children.

With that in mind, you should be prepared to try more than one method of curing the picky eater – without giving up too easily – repetition is the key.

1. First of all, you need to discover the reason for the picky eating. Is your child simply not hungry at mealtimes? If so, why? Do they naturally have a small appetite? Then you may have to limit snacks.

Do they get hungry throughout the day and eat as they please – using a snack time to fill up? That may not be bad thing – if snacks are nutritious.

Perhaps they are happy to eat some apples or berries for snacks but balk at eating it as part of a meal. If you can monitor this and provide healthy snacks, it may be ok.

2. Or is the issue simply that they like a limited range of foods and balk at trying anything new. If that’s the case then assess the foods they do like – limited and healthy may seem boring to you, but it may be fine for a child.

For instance if your kids like chicken nuggets and French fries at every meal, can you substitute grilled chicken and baked sweet potato fires without much of a fuss?

3. Sometimes children don’t like the idea of mixing foods. Apple slices serves as a snack will be received much better than as part of a whole meal.

You know your daughter likes apples, she just may not like it when it shows up next to a pork chop. Try to get to the root of the food pickiness by identifying if it’s the particular taste of a food or something else.

Understand your child's preferences to help her eat better

4. Another way to help children overcome picky eating is by involving them in the buying and preparing of foods. Take them to the fruit and vegetable aisle and have them help you pick out the produce. When you bring it home, have everyone help slice or dice it (with the proper supervision) to get everyone on board.

5. Don’t be afraid to bargain. It’s ok to make a deal, and have your kids promise to take at least two bites of every new food before declaring if they like it or not. Perhaps you can provide some rewards – an extra bedtime story – for being an adventuresome diner.

It’s important to remember that your kids are probably just as frustrated about being labeled a picky eater as you are by having one. The whole food wars are bound to make family meal time a bit unpleasant.

It’s ok for your kids not to like one or more foods. But it is your job as a parent to make sure your children are eating a healthy, well-balanced diet – and if all of their fruit intake comes from apples, that’s ok – at some point they will get bored and beg for a taste of that kiwi.

So to cure a picky eater, you will need all your parenting skills and patience. The first step is to understand the root cause for the picky eater – is it caused by a lack of hunger at mealtime or a genuine dislike of particular foods.

Once you have this basic distinction figured out, you can try the strategies above to reduce meal time frustration and get your child to eat a wider variety of foods.

Andrea Stein is the founder of GirlMogulMagazine.com, an online community for encouraging successful girls. Go to GirlMogulMom for your free report, Raise a Successful Girl and see our special offer for a free book for tweens.

Additional resources:

FREE Ebook: 120 Fun Recipes for Kids – Download it with our compliments when you subscribe to our newsletter.
Mood Food Book – Learn how and why food affects our mood, attention, learning abilities and our children’s health. Make enlightened decisions as you steer through the supermarket shelves and make choices that support healthy, happy children who can concentrate.
Healthy Eating for Kids – Make proper eating an adventure that children will actively enjoy. Cook healthy meals that are not only nutritious, but which appeal to a child’s palate and sense of fun at the same time.