WASHINGTON — After a long day at work, few things are more frustrating than coming home to a battle at the dinner table, where bargains are made between parents and kids over what needs to be eaten before plates are cleared. And for parents of picky eaters, mealtime can be a downright nightmare.
Cindy Morrison is familiar with the difficulties of pleasing picky eaters. She is a certified speech language pathologist, feeding therapist and founder of , a service that offers feeding聽advice and online coaching for parents.
While picky eating is a common trait among children, Morrison says it鈥檚 an important one to address, since the early years of childhood are the most important, nutritionally.
鈥淭heir brains are developing and growing and the good food that they鈥檙e eating is supporting that,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o when you have a child that鈥檚 only eating chicken nuggets and yogurt and wants crackers 鈥� they鈥檙e limited with what their body is getting to help them grow to their potential.鈥�
One thing Morrison wants parents to understand is that being a picky eater doesn鈥檛 mean a child is acting out; it鈥檚 not always behavioral. Instead, she says, it鈥檚 a common developmental milestone.
鈥淲hen you go to the pediatrician for your well visits, they talk a lot about gross motor milestones — when they鈥檙e standing, when they鈥檙e walking, when they鈥檙e sitting up — but they really don鈥檛 talk about 鈥楧uring this month, your child鈥檚 going to go through a natural stage of refusing foods,鈥欌�� says Morrison.
The best thing parents can do is be prepared for these milestones and not be quick to address the situation as a behavioral issue, she聽says.
鈥淲hen they鈥檙e addressing it as behavior, that鈥檚 when it actually becomes that psychological, behavioral component. When they鈥檙e young and they鈥檙e going through these milestones, if you support them through them, versus 鈥� starting a battle, that time period of them being pickier will pass over more quickly.鈥�
While every child is different, and therefore reaches milestones at different times in life, Morrison says it鈥檚 common to see children get pickier with food between 18 and 36 months, and then again around 5 or 6 years, when they go through a stage of secondary teething.
What鈥檚 the best way to support a picky eater and continue to introduce your child to new, nutritious foods? Morrison offers her tips for parents and caregivers.
Don鈥檛 give into demands; offer modifications
While Morrison says it鈥檚 important to be supportive of your picky eater as he goes through the expected milestones, that doesn鈥檛 mean you need to give into demands.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e not going to say, 鈥極K. Don鈥檛 eat it. You鈥檙e going through a feeding milestone and you don鈥檛 have to eat chicken for the next three months.鈥� But what you can do is support them.鈥�
And one way to show support is to make modifications to the food your child is refusing.
For example, dicing a food into smaller pieces or serving it with dips can make it more appealing to children. Also, serving a food with a variety of 鈥減airing options鈥� can entice a child to eat.
鈥淢aybe take half of a grape and chicken both on the fork and show them, 鈥楲isten, you can change the flavor of that chicken by combining it with something else on your fork. Let鈥檚 see how it tastes when we add a grape, or let鈥檚 see how it tastes when we add a tomato. It鈥檚 different each time.鈥欌��
Offering pairing options also gives a child a feeling of control and a sense of accomplishment when they recognize that they can make a change to their food to better fit their tastes.
Introduce new foods in small quantities 聽
There are many ways to introduce children to new foods, many of which are research-based. Morrison says one of the best approaches is with multiple exposures and in small amounts.
鈥淔or instance, if you鈥檙e introducing salmon for the first time, you don鈥檛 want to give them an entire plate of salmon,鈥� she says.
Instead, put one to two small bites on your child鈥檚 plate earlier in the day.
鈥淢aybe it showed up at snack time; of course, if you鈥檙e not with your child during the day, maybe you do this on a weekend.鈥�
Make sure your child sees you try the new food, and even present it on a plate with a few of their favorites.
鈥淟et them see it; talk to them about taking steps to look at it, touch it, smell it before they鈥檙e required to put it in their mouth. All of these things are incredibly helpful for giving them time to process it. I think too often we present food to children in too large of amounts, and then we just kind of expect them to go for it because we like it. But what鈥檚 really important to remember is that their taste buds evolve over time,鈥� Morrison says.
鈥淣ever say to tell them 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to get this food you like if you try this food.’ Using the preferred food as a reward — research shows that that doesn鈥檛 work. In fact, it works against parents.鈥�
Play with your food
Adults are very familiar with tastings — whether with wine, tapas or desserts. So why not introduce children to the concept as well?
鈥淭he beauty of those tasting events is that we鈥檙e getting very small amounts of a lot of different types of foods,鈥� Morrison says.
One way to do a tasting for children is to hold a theme day, such as an 鈥渙range day鈥� where kids can try all different types of orange foods. Morrison recently held a 鈥済reen day鈥� tasting for her kids and their friends.聽She says everyone was聽so excited about the idea of green food that they聽tried everything.
鈥淲hen they see one child going for it, the likelihood that they鈥檙e going for it as well is increased,鈥� Morrison says. 鈥淢ake it silly; make it fun. Use that positive food marketing.鈥�
Set a good example
Peers aren鈥檛 the only ones who can have a positive influence on picky eaters. Morrison says parents play a major role as well.
鈥淩esearch shows us that parents actually have the largest effect on their kids,鈥� she says. 鈥淪ome parents will encourage their kids to eat vegetables, but not eat them, and if they鈥檙e seeing their parents are not eating vegetables, that鈥檚 what they鈥檙e learning.鈥�
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