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It started young. The picky eating. He would look at certain foods we put in front of him and just look at us like we were absolutely crazy for even suggesting it was food. There were A LOT of battles. There still are. I\u2019m sure this sounds familiar for many reading this, but as a parent of a \u201cpicky eater\u201d, I\u2019m here to tell you\u2026it\u2019s not your fault, and it DOES get better.<\/p>\n
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Let\u2019s start with the \u201cit\u2019s not your fault\u201d statement. The reason I say this is because some parents have kids who will put pretty much anything in their mouths and not complain. I have one of these kids. But I also have a picky eater. We have never fed them differently. We have never made one eat something and not the other. One is just picky. That\u2019s it. That\u2019s who he is. I find a lot of parents of non-picky eaters just assume picky eating is a result of \u2018bad\u2019 parenting. I disagree. We parent our two children the exact same way, we feed them the same things, but guess what? They are two different people with two different tastes. In most cases, it\u2019s NOT your fault.<\/p>\n
Now onto how it gets better. Some of you might be shaking your heads and thinking that it will never get better. But I think that depends on your definition of \u2018better\u2019. In our house, we consider trying new things progress. We consider not complaining about a meal he\u2019s complained about in the past a solid win. I\u2019m not saying your child is going to magically wake up one day and eat fish and brussel sprouts with a smile. What I AM saying is\u2026there will be progress. There will be small victories. And I think we need to celebrate those.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look at a few tips we\u2019ve found have encouraged our picky eater to branch out a bit. <\/p>\n Give Choices<\/strong> \u2013 No, I\u2019m not suggesting you cook two different meals every night. But maybe give a couple different vegetable options. For example, ask your child if they want broccoli or salad with their meal. They don\u2019t have to eat both, but they DO have to pick one. Make sure they are both healthy options. It will also give you a better idea of what foods your child thinks are the lesser of two evils!<\/p>\n Make Meal Deals<\/strong> \u2013 Don\u2019t make meals for a week straight you know your child will complain about. I say that for your own sanity. Instead, make what we like to call \u201cMeal Deals\u201d. If you\u2019re planning a meal you know your child isn\u2019t a huge fan of one night, make them a deal. If they eat this meal tonight, they can pick the meal tomorrow. It helps them realize they can\u2019t have pizza or hot dogs every single night, but they WILL get to eat their favourite meals.<\/p>\n Try Before You Cry<\/strong> \u2013 This is a rule in our house \u2013 and it\u2019s been VERY helpful. Before you start complaining and crying about what is put in front of you, you MUST try it first. This rule has worked quite well, and our picky eater has ended up trying things he NEVER would have tried otherwise, and turns out\u2026he actually LIKES some of them!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For some kids, it might take a little longer. Be patient. Continue to offer a variety of foods. Celebrate the small victories. Celebrate them with ice cream! But not the kinds with chunks in it. That\u2019s gross. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It started young. The picky eating. He would look at certain foods we put in front of him and just look at us like we were absolutely crazy for even suggesting it was food. There were A LOT of battles. There still are. I\u2019m sure this sounds familiar for many reading this, but as a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-815","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-mom-moments","7":"category-parenting"},"yoast_head":"\n
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