If your child is a picky eater now, they could get into trouble in the future. Making it to adulthood as a picky eater can be downright embarrassing – if you’re getting married, you want to be able to eat the cake. But on the other hand, forcing food on your picky eater can lead to resentment and may not gain you the results you desire. How can you help your picky eater change their ways? Let’s see what these moms have to say.
“Be careful,” says this mom, “people like to say that this is a ‘phase,’ but it can turn into life habits so easily. My niece was still in this so called ‘phase’ at the age of 14.” Every mom can think of examples of extreme picky eating. Take Wyatt, who likes to separate his cereal from the milk and use the milk as…a dip? If your child develops an eating habit that’s weird, disruptive to family routines, and goes on for more than a few weeks, chances are it’s not just a phase.
The sooner you can identify a picky eating habit, the sooner you can get to work fixing it. Some scientists say kids develop their taste buds around the time they begin walking. This is the best time to start feeding them healthy foods and foods they might not like when they get older, because when they’re young it’s easier for them to form healthy – not picky – eating habits.
But what do you do if your child’s picky eating habits are already entrenched? “We have a rule,” says Jenifer, a mother of four with a PhD in Mass Communication, “if it’s on your plate you have to take at least two bites.” Many moms find that their picky eaters ditch meals in favor of their favorite snacks. If this is the case with your picky eater, be sure to stock healthy snacks instead of junk food; at least they’ll be forgoing dinner for something somewhat nutritious.
However, Jenifer also advises that parents be patient when introducing new foods at the dinner table: “Just remember that it takes 12-20 times of a child being introduced to a new food for them to like it.” Just as picky eating can be a hard habit to break, healthy eating is a hard habit to form. Be patient with your picky eater. It’ll take time, but if you put a few of these tips into practice you’ll have a healthy eater in no time.
