Fussy Eaters: How to get them eat healthy

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Fussy Eaters: How to get them eat healthy

by Patricia Mayville-Cox (Subscribe to Patricia Mayville-Cox's posts)
Sep 16th 2008 @ 4:02PM

Filed under: Food, Kids and Parenting

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It all starts with the best of intentions. Pregnancy happens and with it, the promise to build an eco-friendly nursery, nurse until Kindergarten and feed an entirely healthy, 100% organic diet loaded with fruits and vegetables. Some of these goals might be achieved, but at some point, kids might start pushing back and then the fussy eater is born.

Tara Parker-Pope of the NY Times gives us the six food mistakes that parents make when dealing with a fussy eater:

Sending them out of the kitchen: Let kids help prepare those veggies.
Pressuring them to take a bite: Don't complain if your kid refuses that locally-grown, organic eggplant. And don't praise her if she does eat it.
Restricting "bad" food: Set your food cabinets free. If a food is so low in nutritional value that you have to put it on high shelf, then consider getting rid of it altogether. Not a bad tip for anyone, whether there are kids in your household or not.
Dieting in front of your children.
Serving up "boring" vegetables.
Giving up: Offer up a new food 15 times before giving up.

And here is a great tip from our own Kelly Leahy: Make sure that what is on your plate is healthful and organic, and offer your baby and toddler bites of that too!

Comments [2]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-17-2008 @ 7:08AM

kelly.leahy said...

Wow, I said that? I'm genius! Just kidding. Actually, I've been giving this topic a lot of thought as my first child is an excellent eater. She's 3 and we have never had any problems. I don't know if this is because we have done something "right" or if we are just lucky.

After polling parents of picky eaters, there is one thing that they have done that I never do. I don't watch how much my daughter eats. I leave fresh food out during the day that she can pick at and at mealtimes I offer her a little -- if she doesn't touch it then I figure she's not hungry and wrap it up for later. I DO NOT make her a special dish like chicken fingers or Mac 'N' Cheese to entice her to eat more. From what I have learned, this can create very picky eaters.

Now that I have said all this, I do have an 11-month-old that will prove or disprove my theory. I might be stocking up on Annie's in the next year.

9-17-2008 @ 8:12AM

Patricia said...

Yes Kelly, you are a genius! :)

I like your second tip too. Becoming your child's short order cook (where you make whatever they want whenever) can turn them off to whatever is going for dinner for sure.

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