Guest post by Alison Barkman, MS, RD.
Please enjoy this guest post from an RD about preventing picky eating. I remember once a friend said, "I long for the days when I fed my daughter baby food, when I could control what she ate." I asked her if her 3 year old was able to drive to the grocery store and pay for the family groceries. She laughed and said no. You may not realize it, but while you may not be able to control what your toddler, preschooler, gradeschooler, tween or teen puts in their mouth, you do control what's available for them to eat at home. If 80% of their food choices at home are nutritious and they don't have unlimited access to the treats in the house, at least at home, the vast majority of what they do eat is nurturing their growth.
About Alison:
As a registered dietitian (RD), I have counseled moms and kids for weight management and overall healthy eating. I am amazed at the number of kids, well into their tweens and teens, who gag at the thought of a fruit, vegetable or other healthy food. Equally, I am alarmed by the number of moms who are cooking numerous meals at dinner to please the palate of one or more picky eaters. As if moms aren’t busy enough?
Parents of picky eaters, it is time to take back control of meal time! This post will help answer why your child may be picky and offer steps to breaking this behavior.
Why is my child a picky eater?
The peak time for a child to become a picky eater is in the toddler or preschool years. A 2007 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found a strong genetic link in children with aversions to certain foods. However, the researchers stressed that genetics were only part of the cause. Environmental factors, or the child’s surroundings, also play a major part in picky eating.
Environmental contributors to picky eating can have a life-long impact if not corrected. These include giving in to a child’s irrational food requests, and cooking different meals to cater to picky palates. Also, arguing and yelling at meal time will only exacerbate the problem.
What can I do if my child is a picky eater?
There are several steps you can take to help prevent or ease your child out of these behaviors. First and foremost, do not panic or give up too quickly. It may take several trials and taste tests of various foods.
Try some of these steps when working with your picky eater:
- Your kid doesn’t like what you made for dinner and refuses to eat. Offer him a plate, let him know this is what is for dinner tonight, no questions asked. Experiment with different types of food. If salmon, broccoli and a baked potato is on the menu tonight, try chicken, green beans and rice pilaf tomorrow.
- Associate healthy foods with things kids can relate to. Telling a child to drink their milk “because it’s good for you” will not always work. Try associating milk with an interest. For example, tell your child milk builds strong bones and muscles, and this can help improve her soccer game.
- Have patience when introducing new foods. Kids sometimes require 10 to 15 exposures to a food before they will eat it, so keep offering foods your kid may not like initially. Try serving an item different ways. For example, try broccoli with melted low-fat cheese, mix it into a pasta with marinara sauce or a low-fat macaroni and cheese dish.
- Get your kids involved with the food buying, planning and preparation. Take your kids to the grocery store. Act excited over all the bright colors in the produce aisle. Make it a game and ask your child to pick out fruits and vegetables from each color group.
Don’t make a picky eating habit worse!
Unknowingly, a parent’s reaction to a picky eater can make the behavior worse. Parents who give in and prepare a dinner for themselves, chicken nuggets for Tommy and a grilled cheese sandwich for Lilly are not improving the situation. This teaches your children that they are in control of mealtime. Parents job is to offer nutritious options. Kids decide what and how much to eat of what is offered.
Do not create a hostile environment with yelling and forcing a child to clear her plate. If she eats a few bites and does not want anymore, remember that tomorrow is another day to try something else. Forcing a child to clear his plate or bribing with dessert teaches eating for reasons other than hunger, which can lead to overweight and obesity issues down the road.
Try not to overly disguise foods. Secretly placing bananas in vanilla pudding or spinach in brownies will not teach your child about good nutrition. True, they may eat the spinach. But if it is hidden in a brownie they will never truly know if they like it or not.
What should a nervous parent do?
Remember that it is always beneficial to give your child a daily multivitamin to ensure their growing bodies receive proper nutrients. If you are concerned your child’s picky eating is out of hand and causing health problems, speak with your pediatrician. Seek help from a registered dietitian, especially one with expertise working with families and children (go to www.eatright.org and search for an RD by zip code).
A quote that sums it up best is by Ellyn Satter, an expert in nutrition and feeding for children, and author of “Child of Mine: Feeding With Love and Good Sense” (Bull Publishing, 2000):
"You can't control or dictate the quantity of food your child eats, and you shouldn't try. You also can't control or dictate the kind of body your child develops, and you shouldn't try. What you can do, and it is a great deal, is set things up for your child so she, herself, can regulate her food intake as well as possible, and so she can develop a healthy body that is constitutionally right for her."
References:
Cooke, LJ, Haworth, C, & Wardle, J (2007). Genetic and environmental influences on children's food neophobia. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 86, 428-433.
Drotz, Keeley (2008, April). How to outsmart picky eaters. Retrieved September 2, 2009, from Healthcastle.com Web site: http://www.healthcastle.com/children_picky_eating.shtml
Schmitt, B.D. (2009, June 9). Picky Eaters. Retrieved September 2, 2009, from Pediatric Advisor Web site: http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_pickyeat_hhg.htm
Severson, Kim (October 2007). Picky Eaters? They get it from you. Retrieved September 2, 2009, from New York Times Web site: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/dining/10pick.html?_r=1
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6 comments:
Such great advice! As the mother of a little boy who is FINALLY maybe breaking out of his picky eating ways, I'd say all of this advice is right on! The only thing I might add is for parents to not be discouraged. Change won't necessarily happen overnight - sometimes it might take years. Kids are fickle. Keep fighting the good fight with the food served to your kids and one day it will be easier.
good tips Allison Rebecca
What about a two year old who refuses to eat what you made for dinner (even if you know it's food they like) and then is hungry later? Do you feed them what they want then, or reheat leftover dinner and hope they eat it this time, or just send them to bed hungry?
Karen & Co- reserving uneaten dinner for a child who didn't eat at meal time is fine. I rarely offer my kids anything to eat after dinner (desert, snacks) unless they ate a decent amount at dinner. I suspect that most kids will start eating dinner just a few days after you skip serving alternate food when they refuse dinner. in my experience it is normal for a young child's appetite to be low at dinner time. even a few bites of meat or starchy carb and a glass of milk may be enough to satiate their hunger. I haven't met many two year olds who are consistent eaters through out the day. your child may be on a food jag (refusing foods they usually eat). in time this will pass. keep offering the foods, and eventually they'll come back to most or all of them.
cathy- it's always good to hear from a mom in the trenches, who has seen a picky youngster grow to enjoy a larger variety of food. it does take time! i know little boo (now three) has been on a dinner strike for nearly a year. he picks like a bird at dinner. when he was 18 months about the only thing he wanted at dinner was protein. he only nibbled and pecked veggies and starches. he's starting to come out of it, one night last week he ate a whole taco, I was amazed. and this is the same little boo who as an infant amazed anyone who watched him eat with how much finger food he could put away. he would sit and eat and eat and eat until you'd think he would explode.
this was a GREAT post, thanks! my daughter is approaching 18mo and starting to hit that picky stage, so i'm trying to absorb as much information as i can to be prepared. i'm bookmarking this one and recommending it to friends!
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