How to Make Picky Eaters Eat Healthy

She doesn’t look too happy about the grapes…

Guest post by Kiera S. Campbell

A study, conducted by the Nutrition Department of the University of Tennessee…

…and published in 2004 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, reported that:

Picky-eating behavior occurs in children regardless of their

• gender,
• ethnicity, and
• household’s income bracket.

In addition, as a child ages from four months to two years old, the percentage of pickiness increases from 19% to 50%.

Pickiness, in that study, is classified as a child being offered and having declined the same food three to five times.

Sounds familiar?

Does your child ask for nothing but cheese dogs and sugary treats then frowns at a fresh slice of tomato? (If only you can make your kid clear his plate of peas and not ask for cheese dogs as his midday snack.)

Teach your little picky eater at home to make healthy food choices and slowly ease him to try new and nutritious foods.

Here are six suggestions on how to accomplish that.

Introduce new food one at a time

1. When you give new foods to a toddler, especially fruits and vegetables that he hasn’t tried before, you must do so using only one vegetable or fruit at a time.

A whole meal of unfamiliar foods will make your toddler more resistant to eat it.

Place something that puts him at ease, like a standard fare that he likes to eat most of the time. For example, top his favorite breakfast cereal, waffles, pancake, or toast with sliced fresh fruit.

2. Offer a variety of appetizing healthy foods. Set a colorful plate of age-appropriate greens and colored vegetables before your little picky eater. Get forkfuls of that same vibrant vegetable buffet plate.

As you eat, show exaggerated expressions of enjoyment and gusto. It won’t be long before he gets tempted to try the food. When a toddler reaches out on his own instead of you forcing him to eat it, he will appreciate the food more.

3. Introduce new food to your finicky eater when you know that he is hungry. For example, when he gets hungry in the middle of his weekend afternoon games, offer a small plate of mango slices as snack. Since he is famished, he will most likely try it.

4. Never offer sugary treats as a way of rewarding a toddler for eating something new and healthy or for eating more of the nutritious meals that you served before him.

5. Make healthy dips. A kid loves to dunk a piece of finger food (like a baby carrot) into something.

6. Feeding a picky eater is easier if you make mealtimes pleasant for the whole family. Turn off the television and happily talk to your kid about what’s in the food that you are serving and how you cooked it.

Or the next time you prepare a healthy meal, give him simple kid-friendly kitchen tasks. He will enjoy being involved in preparing the food that he is going to eat. What’s more is that he will be attracted to try it once it is already on the table.

Dealing with picky eaters can be challenging. But once you have successfully ingrained the habit of eating nutritious foods in your youngster, he’ll have more chances of growing healthy.

Author bio:

Kiera S. Campbell is the author of “Yummy Healthy Tummy: The Secrets of Raising Healthy Kids Every Parent Needs to Know!” To read more about raising healthy kids, visit Kids Food Secrets. To check out the book, go to Yummy Healthy Tummy.

Photos by Creative Commons Flickr:
Toddler -  CarbonNYC
Broccoli -  whologwhy