How do you get good food into picky children?

carrieeniece

As a mom of two grown sons who would try just about anything (and was a daycare mom for 8 years) I have to say that it's okay to not make an issue of food. I found the best result was to make whatever it is you want (healthy food), put some of everything you are eating on their plate and just let it go. If they eat the green stuff great. If they didn't, they almost always tried it later after seeing it on their plate twelve times previously. No emotional harm done in exposing them to food and giving them the choice. My one son hates mayo the other likes it. One loves apples, the other doesn't. Everyone has different tastes. The key is variety and exposure. Let them figure out the rest and get a vitamin for them. We certainly don't need to develop emotional issues over food with our children, I think our generation and the generations before us had enough of that.

That being said, my neighbor let her children squirt their own catsup and allowed them to never drank milk unless it was chocolate. Certain things should be kept a "Treat". Chocolate milk should not substitute white (if they don't like white milk then get a different way of getting calcium in them rather than adding sugar). Offer only the right stuff. They'll learn to either like it or not, but at least you gave them the opportunity to.

cuterbee

My kids liked frozen peas, corn, or green beans. They wouldn't eat them cooked -- only frozen. So, frozen it was!

Other veggies were OK cooked or raw; except for onions. One of my kids would not eat them, and could detect the merest HINT of onion in a food...but garlic was somehow OK, so I'd use that instead.

lizspracklen

Hello, I have had three kids with various preferences for eating veggies. I take one shopping with me and
ask him/her to pick 1-2 veggies they would like to try that night or later that week. I ask them to pick it,
measure/weigh it, and bag it and mark their name on the bag. It usually works to atleast to get them to try it.
It works really well when they are pre-school and elementary age. The youngest eats broccoli, spinach, peas, jicama,
butterbeans, red lettuce, green lettuce, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, and other stuff and she is now 13.
I wish all of you the best of luck.
Just try to involve them in small ways that aren't too stressful and hopefully enjoyable to them and you.

crowunruh

My 6 yr old used to be very picky. Only until recently have I been able to get him to eat more veggies. Over the years I always put some on his plate, it really wasn't until he saw his little brother and kids at school eating them that he wanted to eat them. We also talk alot about healthy foods and why we should eat our veggies. Just keep trying!

njfitnessgirl

My 3 yr old son is very picky but he's learned that he has to have at least one type of vegetable for dinner. I know I can always count on him eating raw carrots and the rule with my kids is you eat what your age is. So my son has to eat 3 baby carrots for dinner and my daughter who's 7 eats 7.

I've found out that he loves a recipe that my aunt makes which is spinach balls. So I make a double batch of them and freeze them. Then I can just pop them in the microwave just before dinner is ready. He also loves corn on the cob so I buy the kind you steam in a bag in the microwave.

He also loves honey roasted chickpeas which is a great snack and high in protein for him.

jae6704

I am not going to make any friends in this post. But here it goes.

Now there are Deceptively Delicious by Jerry Seinfeld's wife. But I must say stop being a short order cook request at least three bites of a food and re introduce it again a month later. It takes children a while to develop there tastes. Try raw over cooked veggies with dips or salad dressings. Try and remember when you were a kid and the foods you did not really like. For me it was mushrooms and peas. Until an aunt did not boil the peas for an hour. This showed my mom that I would eat if not over cooked.

You could ask her to describe what she does not like about the taste to see if this is a taste thing or just I don't want to eat that. If it is a control thing. Put the plate in the fridge and when hungry try it again.
Skipping a meal is not being a bad parent make. I know easier said than done. Just try again later. But don't be a short order cook.

I wish you the best.

^^THIS!

Smoothies, pureed soups and spaghetti sauces (cooked carrots puree well into spag. sauce), and tasty dips or for celery/carrot stix and cheese sauces for broccoli and cauliflower worked well for me, too.

All of this but also , some kids have sensory problems. My son has real issues around food. He can love something one day and not the next. The way it feels or taste is a big thing. He is 8 and this has always been an issue for him. I had to make all of his baby food.
He loved hot peppers but not the normal things a child should eat. He craves unhealthy food, but we keep it away from him and he is adjusting to a more natural close to the earth diet. Withdraws do happen when you do this and it can be pain full for the parent... Just keep trying and sooner or later your child will eat other things or be more open to trying other things. Like others have said let her try 3 or 4 bites then if she doesnt like it offer her a sandwich or something easy, that is not that fun to eat. In a month try it again.

I too have paid my son to try new foods, found out he LOVES sushi that way...

Jongooi

Your grandson is sooo smart and cute - microscopic heh...I had the same "vege" problem with my youngest -- now he is 11 and still refuse leafy veg unless I make him gobble them in front of me..

Jongooi

My grandson (4) is one of the worst. He'll see microscopic things in his food "what's that green thing?" when there's nothing and absolutely refuse to have a single bite. Other than squeezing his cheeks to force his lips apart (which I admit I did once), there's no way to enforce a rule that he has to try a bite. He won't.

babeinthemoon

My daughter is 8 and is a picky eater. I feel your pain. Especially since my 12 yr old son will eat anything that is put infront of him. Sigh.

So... I am not above bribeing her. She is a junkfoodjunkie... and likes everything white. So, I keep in mind the size of her stomach (about the size of her fist I'm told), and load up her plate that way. A palm full of protein, one fist of veggies (she hates them), sometimes a fist of fruit.... if I can manage it, and something starchy carb related, again about a fist full. Depending on how the day went nutrition wise, I tell her that if she eats all of her protein and her veggies and/or fruit, she can have dessert after dinner. This is usually a serving of ice cream (yes I weigh it out... because I weigh it for me too), or a cookie.

Sometimes she earns the sweet treat... other times she doesn't. I have noticed that on the days that I am on the ball and offer her healthy food every 3 hours, she will actually eat some, if not all of it. If I am being lazy, or too busy, she'll manage to get junk out of me. I wish that I wasn't so slack on this side of things... but as a busy mama, sometimes I just need to pick my battles. She is at the 50% for height and slightly under that for weight, so things are not out of control.

In addition to the protein/veggie/fruit rule, I also have the "you have to try one bite" of something. The other night she was offered bread pudding (which makes my husband gag), so I told her she could have dessert if she tried just one bite that was about the size of a dime. She did.... and didn't like it... but she tried something new, which was the goal.

bwinn8

I let my kids grow vegies in the summer. That REALLY got them to try new things. They got to pick the seeds, plant water, weed...it worked they both love vegies. It also helps if they can "make" the dish. Wash and put the vegies on the plate , as they got older they had ME trying new "good for you"...

jubug721

I think sometimes instead of trying to be sneaky, you need to just be honest. Let her know how good vegetables are for her body. That they contain a lot of vitamins and nutrients for her body and that you want her to be healthy. Take her shopping with you and play a game with her about new foods. Let her pick out some new fruits or veges to try, it is okay to stick with your same motto of if she does not like it she does not have to eat it. But any thing she does pick out she does need to at least try. There are so many benefits to kids in the kitchen use this as an opportunity to teach her and for her to learn. Maybe even let her know what veggies you haven't tried and maybe together you can try them. Kids are more likely to eat what they pick. Check out this site:

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/preschoolers/picky-eaters.html

good luck! Julie

Gidzmo

Seriously, it's almost impossible to get her to eat veg. I don't want her to have a bad relationship with food, so I don't force her to eat. I have only one rule around food - you try it when it's put in front of you, if you don't like it, you can leave it. I then will serve things multiple times, hoping that one of these days the old "it takes ten tries to like something" theory will actually frikking work.
What sneaky strategies do you have to feed your kids vegetables without them knowing?

Some pasta sauces come with extra veggies cleverly blended in.

If it's something like celery or onions, try chopping them finely and adding them when your children aren't looking (this works with a grown member family member who is also a fussy eater).

Another idea: if the children see their parents eating something, they might be curious for 'just a bite'. And 'just a bite' could lead to them eating more.

bluejeanmean

It takes extra work, but make it the "fun" plate, i.e. decorate it up. For the adult, use edible flowers, a fancy plate, or place a lace doily on a serving tray underneath. Garnish does wonders.

Trechechus

My parents did the old, "You do not leave the table until you have finished your entire plate. And no one else leaves the table until everyone is done" technique. My dad cooked one thing for the whole family and we ate what he gave us.

dhakiyya

The only two lies I tell my daughter -

Santa exists.
There's only tomatoes in the spaghetti sauce daddy makes.

Seriously, it's almost impossible to get her to eat veg. I don't want her to have a bad relationship with food, so I don't force her to eat. I have only one rule around food - you try it when it's put in front of you, if you don't like it, you can leave it. I then will serve things multiple times, hoping that one of these days the old "it takes ten tries to like something" theory will actually frikking work.

What sneaky strategies do you have to feed your kids vegetables without them knowing?

I make my kids "kiss goodbye" any food that they don't eat. so they don't have to eat it, they can give it to me or their daddy instead, but they have to give it a kiss goodbye first. I got this idea from a TV parenting programme where a child psychologist recommended it. Basically, by kissing the food, they're getting used to the idea of the food being next to their mouth, without having to commit to eating it. Apparently it's easier for kids to go from it being next to their mouth, to in their mouth, than it is for them to make the transition from looking at it on their plate and putting it in their mouth. It's interesting because with new foods they're quite reluctant to give it a kiss at first. Whether it actually works or not I don't know, my younger one's (nearly 3) still in a very fussy phase but my older one (6 and a half) is willing to try new foods and is a lot less fussy than she was at age 2. It's one of those things that can't really hurt, so it's worth a try.

I also do hidden vegetables. My kids refuse to eat spinach leaves, I think it's the texture that they don't like, so I use finely chopped spinach instead and I've never had a complaint about that (they don't seem to know it's even there), even from the younger one who will pick out small pieces of onion and sweetcorn from her food and totally refuse to eat them.

I agree with you about not forcing kids to eat, I was forced to eat food as a child, all it did was give me a very strong, almost phobic, aversion to certain foods that it took me years to get over and even be able to see those foods without wanting to vomit, never mind actually eating them. I know a few other adults who have similar food aversions because of being forced to eat those foods as children. IMO it utterly defeats the object of what you're trying to achieve. Mealtimes should be relaxed and fun, and small kids tend to be fussy, but the right atmosphere and encouragement makes them grow out of it. Forcing them to eat makes it 100x worse, IMO.

BTW - when they refuse food, they don't get alternatives. My kids eat what's on the table, or they can choose to not eat it, but I won't give them something extra, otherwise then kids do take liberties. However I will not force them to eat something if they don't want it. It doesn't hurt a child to go without one meal because they were too fussy to eat it. They'll eat more at the next meal.

cubbie_girl

My parents had the rule that you didn't leave the table until you ate your dinner - all of it. I was ALWAYS the last one at the table. Everyone else got to get a scoop of ice cream and go watch a movie while I sat there pushing my food around and pouting. It took some time but now I think I enjoy a bigger range of foods than anyone in my family (except my dad, who will eat pretty much ANYTHING). Even though there are still things I know I don't like, I"ll still give them a try every so often. Example, I've never liked fish but a friend went out to NC and brought some fish home. We made a big dinner and I tried the fish (but ultimately ate chicken cause we had cooked that too). It actually wasn't bad.

When it comes to my daughter (3yo), I don't want her to be afraid of trying new things so she helps me plan and cook meals. Before she was born, my least favorite veggies were peas and broccoli but those happen to be her favorites. We have a trade off system- one day I let her pick the veggie, the next day I pick the veggie. I also have a two bite rule - one bite to get over the shock of eating something you don't what to eat and one bite to decide if you like it. She's been known to chew a tiny piece of green bean for 5 minutes before forcing herself to swallow it. But she always eats her two bites. And I only cook one meal.

Another fun thing we like to do is try new foods together - when we both try a new food, she gets so excited and we call her grandpa to tell him (she's grandpa's special girl and she loves making him proud.)

Luthien007

It's easier to control what they eat when they are younger.
Once they are teenagers and young adults they can buy and make their own food.
I have come to the conclusion that the best way is by example.

amandammmq

OMG, you all are making me very happy I don't have kids! :bigsmile:

stumblinthrulife

OMG, you all are making me very happy I don't have kids! :bigsmile:

Kids are great, but they are a lot of work. I never used to want kids, but now I cannot imagine life without them (nor can I understand what I used to do with all that free time). Like anything in life, you get out of them what you put in.

Linli_Anne

My son was harder to get to try new foods then my daughter was. So, I got a bit more creative with the kids' plates. They still were served what was made, and no exception, but, I made it a bit more fun.

Baby carrots cut on a diaganol, and put on skewers look like hearts.
Meatball Pops (meatballs on popsicle sticks) with little cups of marinara to dip in, and plain noodles on the side.

I use cookie cutters to cut their chicken breasts, cheese, whatever.

Sometimes I just give them toothpicks to pick up their food with...

Our daughter is now bucking a bit more about certain textures/flavours. But she knows that she A) eats what we eat, and there is no extra snacking after supper B)Has to have at the very least the number of bits equal to her age in years (she's 6)

My kids still love their treats, but they are just that, treats.