Do you have a child whose diet consists of hot dogs and buttered noodles? Has the evening meal become a battle of wills? Are you concerned that your child never eats vegetables? If you answered yes, you are not alone. Many children are selective in their food choices for a variety of reasons. Some are simply more sensitive to food taste, texture, smell and appearance than others. Others may be snacking too much during the day and are simply not hungry or interested in trying new foods. In response, you — the loving parent — may be worried that your child will starve and give in to their demands and are just happy they are eating something. In the short-term, this is a useful strategy but as the child grows you are ultimately limiting the development of their sensory ability to adopt a more complex diet.
Strategy for Teaching Eating Competency
Parents are responsible for providing food and deciding when and where it is eaten. The child is responsible for whether they eat and how much. This is a difficult concept for many parents, particularly those who were raised to clean their plates. It takes patience and consistency to help your child develop a more diverse diet. If your child is growing normally and the pediatrician is not concerned, then don’t worry about a day or two of skipped meals. Your ultimate goal is to teach your child to adopt healthy eating patterns and learn self-regulation.
Don’t Give Up
Recognizing that the child’s brain is constantly evolving and growing may help give you the strength to deal with the seemingly endless refusal to try anything new. I always remind parents to keep trying to introduce new foods. According to Keith E. Williams, Ph.D., director of the feeding program at Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania, “A child has to try a food ten to 15 times before they like it. While that sounds daunting to many parents who have a hard time getting their kids to try something once, it does get easier.”
Tired of the war zone at lunch and dinner? Try introducing a new food at snack time. Maybe in a new environment, like a playground or friend’s house. The key is to mix it up and make it fun.
A Hungry Child is More Likely to Eat
Speaking of snacks, a day filled with snacks and drinks will leave most children with no appetite for dinner, particularly if a strange new food is on the menu. I suggest one planned snack per day usually in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon, depending on the family’s meal schedule. With this consistent schedule, the child will be hungry at meal and snack times, and you will help them develop an important life skill – identifying and managing hunger cues.
Be Honest With Your Child
A few years back, there was a trend that instructed parents to hide vegetables in smoothies and sweets. While there is value in this strategy when a child is truly underweight and undernourished, the child is not really learning anything about the new food. To them, that black bean brownie tastes and looks like a brownie. It is a better strategy to be honest when introducing new foods. Opt for a variety of fruits and vegetables AND be enthusiastic! Children follow our lead. If we are as excited about carrots and hummus as snack, our kids will likely follow.
Start Small
Parents often give children portions that are too large for their much smaller bodies. One teaspoon of peas or one baby carrot is much less daunting than a plate with a cup of broccoli. Our goal is to introduce and gain acceptance.
Final Thoughts
As with any skill development, teaching a child to eat a wide variety of foods takes time and patience. Be creative and involve the whole family. Here are a few more ideas…
- Involve children in the meal-prep process to entice them to chow down.
- Get their help in planning the week’s menu.
- Bring them along to the supermarket to pick out ingredients.
- Invite a more adventurous peer over for a meal or snack.
- Introduce a new food with an old favorite. Try a quesadilla with a little spinach.
- Rotate vegetables. For example, carrots on Monday, broccoli on Tuesday. Mix it up!
Karen Kruza, MPH, RDN, LDN is a registered dietitian nutritionist specializing in family nutrition, nutrition-related GI disorders, and weight management. For more information, visit Kruza Nutrition.
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