GO TELL MOM s2e2 – Picky Eaters
There’s always going to be SOMETHING your kid won’t eat – brussel sprouts, broccoli, squash, liver – doesn’t matter. Although, I did list the things I hated to eat as a kid. My mom was told by some sadistic pediatrician that she needed to feed us liver at least once a month. So, she did. I would cut mine into teeny, tiny pieces and smother it in A-1 Steak Sauce and down it with a big glass of milk, trying to avoid having it touch my tongue. Not all kids are willing to go through that to make their parents happy, I just want to point out. But the fact that I’d get paddled if I didn’t swallow every bite was an added incentive.
My son did not like his food touching each other on the plate. I blame it on the Barney dish that had dividers on it when he was a toddler. When a vegetable leaped over the divider, the whining would start. My daughter went through a phase where Uncrustables PB&J sandwiches were the only things she’d eat. If I actually made a PB&J sandwich for her, she wouldn’t eat it – even if I cut off the crust.
Sociologists at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals say kids can become picky eaters for a number of reasons. Some are more sensitive to taste, smell and texture. To this day, my daughter cannot swallow anything with pineapple in it. I loathe the smell of liver and can’t swallow anything with meringue because of the way it feels on my tongue. Picky eating habits are more likely to pop up when parents punish, bribe or reward their kids’ eating behaviors. Experts say the goal for feeding a picky eater should be to try new foods and to keep food from starting a battle.
So, how do you avoid the war? Offer a variety of foods at mealtime, like a vegetable, fruit, protein and starch. But don’t limit it to your kids’ favorite foods. After all, how are they going to know if they like something if they don’t try it? Kids can be offered a food up to 15 times before they’ll try it. Keep in mind, if your kid fills up on juice or milk, they may be more inclined to turn down the offerings.
Nutritionists say you should absolutely not give your kids soda, because it provides no nutritional benefit. Not to mention it does a number on their teeth. I never bought soda when my kids were little. My mom had us drink milk, so that’s what I served my kids. Although I did send them to school with juice boxes. I usually drank iced green tea, because it was considered healthy. As teens, my kids would drink it, too.
But we still battled over the dinner menu. Kidseatincolor.com suggests getting children used to eating healthy by giving them a choice. They call it the “no pressure” meal. You don’t threaten them with no dessert (my mom’s tactic) or not being able to go out to play, or a paddling (my dad’s method.) You just say, “you can eat it when you’re ready.” No, you do not give them an alternative (my ex-husband’s method.) You let them stay at the table until everyone is done, then clear the table. And tell them when the next meal will arrive. One tip: have at least one food they usually like on the table.
Nutritionists warn against having the always-open fridge or cupboard. The child is less likely to feel hunger if they can always grab a snack, and that makes them less likely to try new foods. So, close the kitchen when snack time or mealtime is over. They also suggest giving kids a healthy snack between meals, about every 2-to-4 hours, to improve their eating habits and make them less picky.
Where your child eats can also affect how that child eats, according to healthychildren.org. Eat together as a family as often as you can, without distractions like a TV or cell phone. Serve one meal…not a kid’s greatest hits. If they don’t like the meal, they have to wait for the next one. Don’t pressure them to eat – let their stomach do that. No, you’re not being a horrible parent because you didn’t feed your child. Your child just chose not to eat. They will when they’re hungry.
Try not to tempt your kid to eat a new food – or a disliked food – by bribing them with treats. And just because a kid turns down food once doesn’t mean you should banish it from your table. Keep offering it to them…along with other new foods. That 15 tries rule applies here.
Also, try to make food fun, by arranging it in creative ways. I’ve seen some pretty cool butterfly-shaped finger foods with apple slice wings on celery sticks loaded with peanut butter and dotted with raisins. Think of it like a healthy gingerbread man. Healthychildren.org suggests serving unfamiliar foods, or flavors young kids tend to dislike at first (sour and bitter), with familiar foods toddlers naturally prefer (sweet and salty). Pairing broccoli (bitter) with grated cheese (salty), for example, is a great combination for toddler taste buds.
Now I’m going to cap this with one frightening suggestion – bring the kids with you when you grocery shop, and hit the fruit and veggie aisle first. Let’s face it – it’s the most colorful part of the store. Let them pick out their favorite, and ask them how they want to cook them. If they’re old enough, let them help you prepare them.
I was an outside the house working mom throughout my kids’ childhood, so I didn’t always have control of their meals or their menus. But when they were old enough, my community center had a “junior chefs camp,” where kids could learn things like how to saute, braise, fold in ingredients…all the kinds of things they would need to know when they were grown. And yes, occasionally they’d offer to cook. But they also tended to complain less about what was for dinner.