Strategies for Picky Eaters

Ciao Nutrinutters!!

This week we had a “bring your kids to work” day and I was asked to host a little nutrition session with the kids and teach them about eating fruits and veggies. Needless to say that by the end of the day I felt like I had lived 3 days instead of 1, haha.

At first I panicked since I had no idea how many kids were going to show up and their ages. Also, I had never met these kids, meaning I knew nothing about their likes and eating habits. Not having kids myself also challenged me further since other than “Frozen” and Sponge Bob (because let’s face it, Sponge Bob never gets old, haha), I have no clue what is actually trending. But having volunteered at a daycare as a nutritionist for a few months help me relate to the struggles that moms have with picky eaters.

In the end of the day everything worked out! We had many fruits for the kids so they could create fruit kabobs and all in all, I felt that is was successful since all the kids ate at least one kind of fruit. But the day got me thinking once again on moms with picky eaters. I’ve studied and read many articles, books and blogs and even in theory it seems like mission impossible, especially if the kids are yours...which is why I wanted to share some of the good ideas I find to be helpful and hopefully one of these works for you.

If your kid is refusing to eat what you made, don’t force them or make something different. Simply put everything away and when they are hungry heat up the food he previously refused. I have quite a few friends that have tried this one and say this one was quite effective. When they realize that they are not getting their way, they will end up caving and eating.

Another good strategy is letting your kids have a say in what they eat. But not giving them the full reigns on this one…simply by giving them healthy options. “Would you prefer broccoli or spinach tonight for dinner?”

This next one is a big one! Kids that constantly eat foods advertised for kids is usually having high amounts of sugar, fat and salt because these foods have their flavor enhanced with these ingredients to appeal more to kids. I don’t know where to start with this one and I could probably write an entire blog post about it, but what I wanted to point out is that these kids’ palates get altered and they start having preference for only these foods and all else is not as good. Limiting these foods is a good first step to getting your kids to eat and embrace their fruits and veggies!

Lastly, you are your kids’ heroes. They want to grow up to be just like you and they will follow your lead. If you want your kids to eat their fruits and veggies, eat them too…also, if you don’t want them drinking soda, don’t drink soda yourself. Think of this one as a push for you to eat healthy too!

Let me know if any of these worked for you...I’d love to hear some of your stories

-The Nutrinut-