Picky eating tends to show up during the toddler years, but as kids get older, it generally goes away on its own. Still, it’s normal to worry if your picky eater will have health problems later. Though it may not always be easy, you can try a few new approaches to make sure your child gets the nutrition they need.
Mealtime Expectations
The most effective way to help a child through picky eating is to be a positive role model. Most kids develop eating habits that closely match those of their parents. Just keep in mind that establishing healthy patterns takes time.
Knowing what to expect at each age may relieve some of your worries. For example, it’s normal for toddlers to have a short attention span during mealtime. If they can’t sit with the family for 30 minutes, start with five minutes and gradually add more time.
Toddlers are naturally resistant to change. A regular mealtime routine with limited distractions can help children feel secure and relaxed, making them more likely to try new foods. You can also make mealtime easier for you by choosing healthy, prepared, store-bought food to reheat or collecting simple dinner recipes in an easy-to-grab binder.
Have your child hungry and ready to eat at the next meal or snack. Generally, children should have three meals and one or two snacks each day. In between meals and snacks, do not allow eating or drinking, especially with sweetened beverages.
Young children may get full faster than you realize. Their stomach is roughly the size of their own fist. Instead of asking them to eat everything you serve them, try a one-bite rule, where a child needs to take one bite of all foods on their plate.
How to Get Your Child to Try New Foods
Young children naturally prefer sweet and salty foods over bitter or sour foods. You can begin by offering kid-friendly choices of fresh fruit or baked, homemade chicken nuggets. Where you may run into issues is when you frequently give in to a child’s demands for sugary cereal or potato chips. These habits can lead to health problems when they get older, including diabetes, hypertension, malnutrition and obesity.
Try to pair a flavor they like with a new flavor. Serve low-fat, low-sodium cheese with broccoli, or add some low-sugar peanut butter spread on celery. Cut food into bite-sized pieces of a half inch or smaller or offer soft finger foods with healthy dips like guacamole, hummus or low-fat, plain yogurt. You can experiment with herbs and low-salt seasonings.
Many kids prefer certain textures, like creamy or crunchy. Encourage your picky eater by offering new foods with similar textures. If your child likes fried tater tots, offer baked sweet potato tots instead. No matter how you combine them, offer food from all five food groups every day.
Don’t be discouraged if it takes a while for your child to start expanding their menu of favorite foods. Kids typically need to try a new food 10 times or more before it becomes a regular part of their diet. If your child doesn’t like what’s offered, wait a few days and try again.
Many of these suggestions, as well as other tips for successful mealtime for toddlers, can be found on our YouTube channel.
Involve Kids in Food Prep
Kids, like adults, like to have control over their daily lives. When it comes to meals, this means offering choices that may increase their willingness to try new foods. At snack time, let them pick between two vegetables or offer a choice between simple recipes.
Many kids love to be helpers. Invite them to put vegetables in a slow cooker while you add chopped chicken breast. Teach them how to follow simple, kid-friendly recipes. Children can also help make sure all food groups are represented.
Look for ways to make foods fun:
- Go on an adventure to the farmers market.
- Identify foods by smell or touch.
- Read books about food.
- Make stamps using apples or raw potatoes. You can even use cherry or beet juice as the “ink.”
Always remember to praise your child for helping you and for trying new foods.
A Recipe for Tic-Tac-Toe Veggie Pizza
Here is an easy recipe that involves a whole-grain pita topped with sauce, a crisscross of low-fat mozzarella cheese and vegetables:
Preparation Time: 20 minutes, plus 10 minutes bake time
Serves: 4
- 1 medium carrot
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 medium summer squash
- 4 whole wheat pita rounds (about 6-inch diameter)
- 3/4 cup reduced-sodium pasta sauce
- 4 sticks reduced-fat mozzarella string cheese
Place the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 400 F. For Xs, cut carrot and bell pepper into small sticks about two inches long. For Os, cut summer squash into 12 slices. For the grid, pull apart each cheese stick to make four strips. Place pita rounds on a baking sheet and spread pasta sauce on each. Let kids build tic-tac-toe pizzas with cheese and cooked vegetables. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.
Complete this Healthy Plate: Serve with a glass of milk and a melon slice.
Recipe courtesy of Produce for Better Health Foundation.
When Picky Eating is More than a Phase
For some children, picky eating may signal a health condition, such as pediatric feeding disorder, or PFD.
PFD occurs when a child has delayed feeding skills, a mental or physical health condition or a nutritional problem that gets in the way of eating. Children with PFD may have discomfort or pain when they swallow. They may also feel afraid to eat.
Some children are more likely to develop PFD, including kids with:
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Cerebral palsy
- Eosinophilic esophagitis
- Heart conditions
- Lung problems
Children with PFD often benefit from specialized feeding therapy and may need other medical treatments. Left untreated, these kids are at a higher risk of developing an eating disorder called avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.
Talk to your child’s pediatrician if your child:
- Doesn’t meet developmental milestones
- Eats a very limited number of foods
- Is especially bothered by certain food textures
- Isn’t growing as expected
- Has consistent, extreme behavioral or emotional reactions to mealtimes
More to Read
- How to Help Children Maintain a Healthy Weight
- Diabetes in Children: What Parents Should Know
- Concerned Your Child Has a Developmental Delay? Here’s What to Do
- Food Allergies: How They Develop and How to Treat Them
Medically reviewed by Susan Feigelman, M.D.
