Picky Eaters
What parent doesn’t have a picky eater? At least at times. Recently, Jennifer Motl, a registered
dietitian shared her own experience with a picky eater and gave parents some
advice on what the latest research shows
(Bright
Eating). Her tips modified for this
blog are:
Model Good Eating habits – your children
are always observing what you do and what you say. So eat healthy foods in front of your child
and say how much you like it. Motl
shared how her son started eating radishes because his grandfather liked them
on his salad.
Make up Creative
names for foods – Cornell researchers found school age kids ate 99% more
broccoli when it was called “Tiny Tasty Treetops”. They also ate more green beans when they
were labeled, “Silly Dilly Green Beans”.
Slice some foods –
perhaps because they are easier to pick up and eat but researchers at Cornell
found children ate more apple slices than a whole apple. I’ve seen so many
children take the tiniest bite out of a whole apple and then throw the rest
away. Apple slices are just easier to
eat for children. Similarly, children
ate more kernel corn than corn on the cob and more cut up chicken than a
chicken drumstick. So think of how you
are serving the food and maybe slicing some of it would make it more appealing
to your child. Motl noted she was going to try more fruit
salads, chopped salads and carrot sticks with a dip.
Read books about food
and then serve a food from the book – Choose a book with plenty of pictures
of foods. Some books Motl suggested
are:
- Lois Ehlert, Eating the Alphabet
- Lisa Moser, Perfect Soup
- Jim Helmore, Oh No, Monster Tomato!
Take children to a farmer’s market and have them choose a
vegetable to try. At the grocery store,
point out different fruits and vegetables.
Plant a garden and grow some fresh vegetables. Have your child help cut some chives or
parsley from your garden.
Don’t Force a Child
to Eat – this just usually ends up being a power struggle. Offer the food, but let the child decide how
much they will eat. Many child care
centers have the “one bite” rule. They
encourage the child to at least take one bite of a new food. Many children then decide they like it and
eat it, but if now, at least they tried it.
Motl noted experts say have a child try one bite of everything on the
table. Also, serving the child’s
favorite food when trying a new food may also get the child to eat more of the
new food or at least they will have something to eat if they don’t like the new
food.
Read more about healthier and happier meal times at: http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/.
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment