1. If your child’s a picky eater, think of her nutrition in terms of what she eats during the course of a week, not every day. It’s common for a child to insist on the same food for every meal. As long as it’s relatively easy to make and somewhat nutritious, let your child eat what she requests. Eventually, he or she will likely find a new favorite.
2. Make it a family rule that you have to try everything once, and it’s okay if you don’t like it, or have your child take a bite for each year of her age. Serve new foods before the rest of the meal, when your child is hungriest. If you want to compromise, offer her a smaller portion of her favorite alongside something you would like her to eat. Battling her pickiness head-on, though, will not make it go away, and may only strengthen her resolve.
3. Teach your child about how different foods help them grow. Explain how the vitamins and protein in different foods will help her see better, make her bones stronger, help her fight off colds, help her run faster, and give her more energy. When she is eating fruits, vegetables, and yogurt or drinking milk she will be thinking about what they are doing to her body instead of their taste. When I explained to my kids, Kyle and Brooks, about how Vitamin D makes your bones stronger, they would squeeze their arms after each sip of milk to feel the difference! Apparently very fast-acting Vitamin D! Similarly I explained how Vitamin A such as that found in carrots helps with eyesight, and as they munched on carrots they squinted and reports the new details around the breakfast room they could now spot.
4. Don’t think nutrition has to happen now or never. Take small steps that introduce healthier items into your child’s diet. For instance, offer pasta with tomato sauce over macaroni and cheese, replace white bread with whole wheat, and when you are making cookies or doing other baking, use whole grain flours and rolled oats. If your child does not get enough protein in her diet, blend tofu into spaghetti sauces.
5. Have your child help with shopping and food preparation, as food becomes much more appealing to a child when she has helped get it to the table. Starting with your preschooler, teach your child how to follow the steps of a recipe, gathering everything you need first and measuring ingredients. Put her to work washing fruits, vegetables, and the fixings for salad. Have child-size kitchen tools for her to use, such as her own mixing bowl or spoon, within easy reach. Or give your child an important title for her role in the kitchen, such as Official Taster or Assistant Chef, to make her feel excited about serving and trying her kitchen creations.
