Tips for Picky Eaters!
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| Wed, 08-10-2005 - 10:37am |
This topic comes up on a regular basis, and I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread full of these tips which we can bump up now and again. Kind of a one-stop shop for this question. Plus I have all this stuff in my head NOW. I want to write it down before I forget!
Tip #1: Forget old wives' tales.
"He'll eat when he is hungry" may not apply to our kids who often have sensory issues and may not FEEL hunger in the same way as the old wives. Or they may feel it and not make the connection to eat! Either way, this rule does not apply, so discard it and follow your instinct.
Tip #2 Establish ground rules around eating and mealtimes:
This way everyone knows the expectations, boundaries and limitations. Rules may evolve with time. Here are some examples from my own house:
Rule #1 You don't get your treat unless you finish dinner. Finishing dinner does not mean cleaning your plate. Mom or Dad decides when you have eaten enough. We do this with concrete rules. Two more chicken nuggets, then you are done. Three big spoons of peas, Four more greenbeans (for smaller kids who can't count; separate the required eating from the rest). This negates the need to define "some".
Rule #2: If there is a new food on your plate you must *try* it. "Trying it" means puttng it in your mouth,and chewing it. If you don't like it, you may spit it into your napkin, take a drink, and a lot of credit for trying and you don't have to eat any more of it (this is *very* important, as it establishes trust). If you try it and you *do* like it and eat it, we make a huge fuss of you and you may get an exra treat -providing you finish dinner per rule #1!
Rule #3 (for parents) New foods are introduced one at a time, in very small quantities and together with loved and familiar foods. Initially a portion of vegtable may consist of three baby peas or sweetcorn kernels. If the food is tasted and rejected, it is not presented again for several months (we periodically re-try). The following day we will not try a new food, but may try again in a few days. If a food is tried and accepted, we slowly build up the quantity over time, to the point where the kid will eat a complete portion of that new food, before we move on to the next new food. Slowly and steadily over time, the range will grow.
Tip #3 Condiments are OK.
Peter went through a "drown everything with ketchup" phase. I figured that was OK as long as he ate the veggie, rice or whatever. Later I would work on reducng his ketchup intake. Over time, he gradually reduced it by himself, so now he eats those foods plain. A waitress in our (now sadly extinct) local diner told a story of a boy who used to get a hot dog and fries with a side of chocolate sauce. He would dip each bite of the regular food in the chocolate sauce, but he cleared his plate. I don't know if I personally would go that far, but I thought I'd put it out there that people do!
Tip #4 No condiments are OK too.
You may have the sauce/gravy on the side, or not at all. Some kids just can't stand sauce or gravy, and that's OK.
Tip #5 You (or Mom) may play with your food.
Sometimes the problem is not getting the kid to eat a food, but to consume enough food to constitute a meal. Again, I think a lot of this is peculiar to our kids who may not feel hunger in the regular way, or who may have other interests which override the desire to eat.
I have found the fastest way to get my daughter to scoff down brocolli is to have it 'run away' shreiking "Don't eat me! Pleeeeease". She takes rather perverse delight in grabbing it and munching it. She particularly likes if I cut a word off midway. "Don't eat m...". I'll probably have to work on her Dark Side later, but for now, this works for both of us. For some bizarre reason, she also like to have me make the food sing. (Actually, that is the only time she tolerates my singing!)
Peter likes to name his food. "This is Fred. Now I'm eating Fred". Sometimes he'll act out a whole scenario where the other green beans (or whatever) look for "Fred" and wonder where "Fred" has gone (then he demonstrates and sneds them to join Fred). I encourage this imaginative play. Happily, he has never named his food "Paula"!
Singing a song (1 bite after each line), or repeating a rhyme may work for some kids
Harness natural competitiveness: I am not ashamed to have my kids "race" to finish their peas, or gain bragging right on how may seconds (rare) they have consumed, or how much of a new food they have tried/eaten.
Tip #6 For food with flecks in it:
Introduce flecks slowly. Take an established staple, such as Mac & cheese and place ONE tiny piece of parsley on it (right on top, from whence it can easily be removed). See how the child reacts. If s/he freaks out, try moving the fleck to the side of the plate. or onto another plate and away to a point where preferably it may be seen ansd it is tolerated. Then slowly try to bring it back (over time, closer with each meal that cntains the mac&Cheese). If you get to the point where the child eats the favorite staple with a fleck, next time present it with a few more flecks, and so on until s/he will eat flecky mac&cheese. Then try to introduce a tiny piece of a new dish with flecks, per Rule #2.
Tip #7 Grow your own food, if possible.
If kids help with growing and cariing for a fruit or vegatable, they are WAY more likely to eat it. (it's not a guarantee, however).
Tip #8 Having your kids help in the kitchen may de-mystify some foods.
We started this with tacos. Kids could help by picking the tomatoes, putting out the condiments and prepared dishes, peparing the tacos shells for heating, grating cheese, etc. It is still the only way my daughter will eat gound beef (ground turkey works well too, BTW). The "no food touching" rule seems not to apply to tacos as I present everything at table in a separate bowl/plate, and they construct the tacos themselves at the table. (yes, it's messy, but the table and the kids wipe clean).
I think that is all from me. What did I forget?
-Paula

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bumping this up, but I don't know if it will help Ella...
-Paula
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
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Tina,
Thank you my love. I don't know if we coudl summon up the brainpower to recreate this thread from scratch. It was a rare piece of collaborative genius. ;)
-Paula
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
Thank you all for putting this back up.......it is such a helpful post. I too have an extremely picky eater......we are definitely going to give these suggestions a try. I just have to be patient and remember that this will not happen overnight.
Thanks again,
Christie
Bumping this up again.
I know Teresa has seen it, but some of the newer members might benefit.
-Paula
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
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