What to Do With Picky Eaters

Has dinnertime become a food fight with your toddler or preschooler? Suddenly your child, who ate so well as a baby, declares it's nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and dismisses veggies with a big "yuck."

Or, perhaps he's got a problem with two foods touching on his plate, or has a thing against eating anything green, or maybe he decides yogurt is the food of choice for breakfast - for let's say, two weeks. After that, he hates it.

Coping with picky or unpredictable eaters can be frustrating for parents, but as frustrating as it can be, try not to let mealtime become a battleground.

Tips for picky eaters

While there may be no tried-and-true methods for getting kids to like new foods, there are some suggestions psychologists have to get them to try:

1. Introduce new foods regularly. The more you offer new foods, the greater variety of foods she will eat.



2. Don't give up. Don't stop offering a food just because your child has rejected it several times.



3. Set a good example by eating healthy food yourself. Control the food you bring into the house, avoiding junk foods, such as high-fat chips, cookies, and cakes.



4. Don't bribe or force your child to eat. Bribing is bad because a child usually thinks, "This must really be bad" if they're bribing me.



5. Don't push food or force him to clean his plate. A child's appetite is less than a quarter of an adult's so don't press him to eat more than he can.



6. Don't threaten or punish a child for not eating. Even though you may be concerned, don't show your child that you are upset by his refusal to eat. If your child is seeking attention, then getting a reaction out of you fills that need, and he may try the same thing again.



7. Let her make choices. As long as she's picking nutritious foods, it's OK to allow your child to pick what she wants to eat, even if it means she's eating a particular food again and again for a while.



8. Offer healthy snacks in between mealtime. If your child doesn't eat at one mealtime, you can offer a nutritious snack, such as fresh fruit, vegetables, or whole-grain crackers, a few hours later. With this approach, you can guarantee he won't starve.

Sources:

American Academy of Family Physicians

Woolf AD, Shane HC, Kenna MA, eds. The Children's Hospital Guide to Your Child's Health and Development. Cambridge, MA. Perseus Publishing; 2000.

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.