6 Tips To Prevent A Picky Eater

02/18/2014

Every morning we do (almost) the same thing for breakfast. Two scrambled eggs and a bowl of frozen blueberries. You can always tell it’s my daughter by the blueberry stains permanently on her right hand (most people think I don’t clean my child and that my daughters’ hands are dirty.) Lovely.
Trust me, I’ve tried other things. Oatmeal – fail. Toast – fail. Cheese/Yogurt – fail. Muffin – fail. So I resigned myself that although it’s the same items every morning, at least it’s healthy items. In fact she likes mostly healthy things, but it’s frustrating that my shopping list for her looks like this:
* Blueberries
* Hummus
* Eggs
* Corn
* Blackberries

That’s it. I think that if she could eat these five foods and only these five foods, she would be a very happy girl. Now she is a very happy child most of the time, but as she gets older this trend of wanting only these items has me a little worried. Sure they’re healthy foods, but I think that more variety is required for a growing child.
Now I take some blame. I am not the worlds most adventurous eater. I stick to the basics, to what I know. But I think I may have to step outside my comfort zone for this to work. And by work, I mean trying new things I don’t normally cook.
Registered dietician Jennifer House owns First Step Nutrition. She works with Calgary families dealing with everything and anything to do with your families diet and nutrition. She agreed that my daughters’ menu was made up of nutritious items but gave me some suggestions for preventing her going down a path of picky eating. Here are her top 6 tips for preventing a picky eater:
1) Stop trying to control how much your child eats. No more “3 bite rule!” When we force or strongly encourage our child to eat more, it just builds power struggle. They end up actually eating less than if given the option to choose how much they are hungry for, and mealtime is not enjoyable for anybody!

2) Do not be a short order cook or offer “back-up” foods if your child refuses what is offered. Not only is it more work for you, but it discourages your child from trying new foods when they know they can get what they want.
3) Do not bribe or reward with dessert and sweets. This puts sweets on a “pedestal” and sets your child up to have a sweet-tooth for life. It also tells them that dinner/the vegetable/whatever they have to eat, is undesirable and must be forced down.
4) Continue to offer previously refused foods whenever you eat them, with no pressure. You can try foods in different forms as well (like sweet potatoes baked, mashed or in fry form).
5) Be a good role model. Offer mostly nutritious foods and eat them yourself!
6) Get your child involved in growing the food, shopping, preparing the food and setting the table. They are more likely to eat new foods they have played a part in preparing!

For now, I plan to expand our families meal plans to include a wider variety of foods in hopes she will find other items to love. But beyond that if it doesn’t work, I may sign up for her picky eating course. Doesn’t hurt to have the knowledge before it becomes a problem!
***
* If you want more information or more help with your picky eater, Jennifer is offering the following session:
If your family mealtime is stressful instead of peaceful, and full of food battles you NEED this class! Especially for parents of young children who are struggling with Picky Eating issues (or want to prevent them!).
Location: 2000 Days PreKindergarten, 5728 1 Street SW, Calgary
Date: Wednesday February 26th, 2014 from 7-9pm
Fee $40 (receipt provided, you may have extended health benefits coverage)
To register, email jen@firststepnutrition.com or call 403-608-3240.