How to Deal with Those Young Picky Eaters
I often get calls from people asking for some advice in dealing with a picky eater; the child who will only eat macaroni and cheese or only pizza or some other nutrient void food. When the parent puts anything that looks like a vegetable in front of the child, he or she will refuse to eat. Typically, the parent gives in because the fear of the child missing a meal brings forth visions of swollen bellies and malnutrition. The result may be a child with poor performance in school, behavioral problems, allergies, ADD and/or ADHD; but what about all the intricate workings of the body that are affected due to nutrient deficiencies? This is how chronic disease begins.
This is really a parenting issue rather than a nutrition issue. As long as parents offer alternatives to the healthy meal there will not be much change in the child’s diet. It becomes a battle of will between child and parent and very often the parent gives in first.
I am not a psychologist but as a single parent, I didn’t have the time to prepare different menus to suit my children’s preferences. Of course on occasion I would make a healthy meal they enjoyed but their nourishment was my first priority. I would make a healthy meal and they had to eat it or go to bed hungry.
Here are my suggestions:
1. Try to serve mostly healthy foods along with one small amount of the child’s favorites.
2. Make less of the unhealthy foods and require that your child eat those foods only after they eat some of their vegetables.
3. Be creative with sauces, dressings and spices. My girls didn’t like plain broccoli, but with melted butter and seasoned breadcrumbs (before we were gluten free) they loved it.
4. Get your child involved in preparing the healthy food. During the preparation, point out the fiber on the outside of the broccoli, the carotenoids in the sweet potato, and how steaming is healthier than frying or boiling.
5. Let your child have a voice in what is prepared, for example, after he or she helps you prepare the veggies have him or her choose what they want, but be sure you make only a small amount.
6. Spend some time with younger children cutting photos of the fruits and veggies from magazines. Save these images and use them to have the child pick out the menu (with your approval, of course). Be sure to find mostly healthy foods but allow some of the others as well.
7. Explain to your child how the body won’t work properly if the vitamins and minerals are missing. Explain how much bigger they’ll grow, faster they’ll run and better at school they will be by eating well.
8. Keep a growth chart and remind him or her that the growth must be because of the veggies he or she has eaten.
9. Don’t reward behavior with sugar-laden foods or drinks. Use healthy versions of the same type, example: organic blue corn chips instead of regular corn chips, or whole wheat cookies instead of conventional. A better reward would be to play a game or read a story instead of rewarding with food.
10. Create a recipe book with your child. Try new recipes together and vote on whether it is good enough to add to your recipe book of things you like. Be sure to use healthy ingredients.
11. Have your child’s friend come for dinner so he or she can show off their cooking skills and how proud you are that they eat veggies and such.
The bottom line is that the parent does the shopping, the parent prepares the meal, and the parent can choose whether or not to give in to the child. The solution is not necessarily a nutritionist, but in the parent gaining control.
Until Next time….
Donna