Managing Picky Eaters

Mealtime is the time when we gather together with those who we care about to connect and share a meal. In some cultures, family mealtime is even considered sacred. However, if you have a picky eater to feed, this can make mealtimes less than pleasant, and even stressful.

Do you prefer spinach over broccoli, or apples over bananas? Whether a child or an adult, we all have food preferences. According to Taylor et al. (2015), although there is not an official definition for a fussy or picky eater, it is commonly characterized by strong food preferences and often an unwillingness to try new foods. According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA, n.d.), it is less common, but those with aversions to entire food groups or who fear eating certain foods can be referred to as a "selective eater." Selective eaters generally need care administered by a healthcare team and such treatment is beyond the scope of this article. 

As a parent or caregiver of a picky eater, the goal is to try to create a more positive experience around food and mealtimes with your family. Try to remain patient and never force a child to eat something.

The Better Kid Care Program (Cox & Gettings, 2014) provides some tips to help a child broaden their food preferences. 

1. Go slow and introduce only one new food at a time, while making sure there is food that the child likes and is comfortable with at the meal.
2. Make it small. A child's stomach is small, so "a taste" can be small, too. Let your child decide what amount of the new food they are willing to taste, which can be as small as half a teaspoon. Celebrate that the child is willing to try a new food.
3. It may end up back on the plate. A skill you can teach children is how to spit food back into a napkin. This allows the child to have control over whether they would like to swallow the new food. If the child knows they have this option, they may be more willing to try a new food.
4. Keep Trying. Don't give up on a food if your child refuses it the first few times. It could take up to 10-15 times of exposing your child to a food before they will accept it. As the child becomes familiar with seeing the new food, they are likely to give it a try, so keep offering those new foods. Try it again in a week or so and prepare it a different way. For example, you could try roasting broccoli instead of steaming it.
5. Be a role model. Children learn by watching the adults in their lives. This is also true with trying new foods. It is helpful for children to see your willingness to try new foods. As a family, select a new food that no one has tasted before, so therefore this can be a shared experience. Sharing a meal together helps model healthy eating patterns.
6. Make it fun. Make a meal that has different colors and have the children sort the foods by color. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Larson, 2018), suggests naming the foods you are serving. A green smoothie, for example, could be named a "Leprechaun milkshake." This may reduce any anxiety around mealtime and make it positive and fun. Have your child feel the textures of new foods outside of a mealtime to take the pressure off of having to try a new food.  A couple of fun ideas are to make a stamp by cutting an apple or driving a toy bulldozer through rice.
7. Meal plan and shop together. When you try to involve children in the shopping and planning for meals, this may help to stimulate interest and help them take that first taste. Find a kid-friendly cookbook to look through together. Let them pick what fruit and vegetable at the grocery store they would like to try at a meal. Start a garden together and let your child help plant the seeds and watch the food grow.
8. Cook together. Even toddlers can perform some simple cooking tasks such as sifting or stirring. Involving even the pickiest eater in preparing the food greatly increases the chance and willingness for them to try something they helped prepare.
9. Don't use short-order cooking or bribes. It is frustrating and counterproductive to cook and serve the picky child separate meals from the rest of the family, because it further encourages picky eating. Keep the family meal all the same and remember to include a variety of foods that you know the child likes and is willing to eat. Try to offer snacks no less than two hours before or after meals. Remember, a truly hungry child will eat.
10. Be positive and patient. Children eat several times a day, meaning there are several opportunities to try a new food. Be patient with feeding times and try to stay calm and positive. Try to use positive statements like "he is learning to love new foods" instead of "he doesn't eat anything and is picky." Celebrate small successes!

Hopefully, some of these tips will help to create a more enjoyable experience around the table. If you would like more information and tips about picky eaters, search Penn State Extension's website for the "Better Kid Care" program which has some additional resources.

References

Cox, J., & Gettings, M. (2014). ABCs of growing healthy kids: Picky eaters. Penn State Extension. Better Kid Care. 

Larson, H. (2018). 8 ways to get picky eaters to become more adventurous. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

National Eating Disorders Association (n.d.). Avoidant restrictive food Intake disorder.

Taylor, C. M., Wernimont, S. M., Northstone, K., & Emmett, P. M. (2015). Picky/fussy eating in children: Review of definitions, assessment, prevalence, and dietary intakes. Appetite, 95, 349–359.