When I was a home visitor for a birth to 3 program. The biggest complaints hands down from Mom’s were regarding eating & sleeping. My daughter is far from a picky eater…but she has her days. In the beginning she would eat anything and everything we put on her plate for the first few months home. She had a voracious appetite and could out eat me. This little 19 lb wonder could easily eat two slices of pizza or an entire breakfast and still want to eat. It amazed me at the way she could eat and she would not turn a thing away and even wanted to eat a chicken bone & apple core.

Then as she caught up and gained weight she started to develop a taste for certain foods and turn away others. Her eating has tapered off. The first time she left food on her plate and said all done. I think I could have cried. Food was such an issue of security with her and I was so happy to see her acknowledging she was full and knowing she did not have to clean her plate. Now she is becoming pickier… and she has preferences. One day she likes oatmeal and the next she does not. Sometimes she will eat veggies and then she wont. Sometimes she will eat meat and other days she doesn’t. She loves yogurt, cottage cheese, and fruit but she has my sweet tooth and unfortunately loves cookies.

I try to substitute graham crackers for those when I can. I try my best to keep offering her food items. My pediatrician said to not fall into a trap of worrying about what she eats. He said that she will not starve and it’s best to not get into a scenario where she will only eat chicken nuggets & fries. I try my best not to battle with her over foods but sometimes I do get frustrated when she wont taste something. That’s all I ask.. try it once. If you don’t like it… so be it.. but at least try it.

A few Tips

Your Child wont starve

Don’t give up on a food… keep offering it

Remember portion sizes- a tablespoon of each food group per year.So if you have a 2 year old- 2 tbsp of potatoes, 2tbsp of veggies, 2 tbsp of meat. Too much food on a plate can even overwhelm adults so keep the portions smaller.

Remember binges & jags in a child’s eating patterns are normal- just keep offering.

Don’t ever battle or punish over food- I remember all to well sitting at the table because I would not eat meat. The child can always win this one.. you cant force them to eat or sleep so Its best to try to encourage it in a different way.

Give choices by allowing your child to choose from two options you approve of- goldfish or graham crackers

Try dips…. Ranch dressing is a big hit with veggies, chicken and just about anything

Don’t be a short order cook and make separate meals

Try getting a compartment dish- my daughter will usually taste something from each compartment and some children and adults even don’t like their food to touch

Sneak veggies into foods- puree them, chop them, and hide them

Freeze yogurt as an Ice cream substitute

Keep a healthy snack available at all times. I keep cheerios in her snack trap and if she is ever hungry she can snack on that.

Try drinkable yogurt

Buy a special placemat and new fun silverware

Let your child help you cook

Make it pretty- ants on a log, apple smiley faces, banana wheels- make food fun

Limit Juice- this fills them up and toddlers should only have 4 to 6 oz of juice a day- we water Livi’s juice down

some resources

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/parenting_tips/picky_eaters.html

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/toddler/toddlerfeeding/9199.html


http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/eating/picky.html