Picky eating is an extremely common behavior that is observed in young children. This behavior usually involves children refusing to eat certain foods or being hesitant to try new foods due to the color, smell, or texture. While picky eating is usually temporary, you may wonder if this behavior is cause for concern. If you do have any concerns about your child’s nutrition or development, it is important to contact your child’s physician to discuss these concerns.
When approaching this topic with children, there are many positive ways to encourage children to be more interested in eating their food and less likely to resist new foods.
See the tips below or watch the video above!
1. Be more involved in preparing food together
There are many ways to involve your child in making meals and snacks. One way is to bring your child along to the grocery store. Let your child pick out fruits and vegetables that seem interesting to them. Children can also help prepare meals and food! Encourage children to be involved in the process by helping clean fruit and vegetables or mixing ingredients together. Children will be more interested to eat a variety of food when they are more involved in the process.
2. Set an example
Parents, guardians, and caregivers can play a role in children’s behaviors toward food and the encouragement of healthy eating. Children are very observant. Show children how much you enjoy eating fruits and vegetables. Describe these foods to your children as you eat them. Tell your children what the foods are and why they are good for them!
3. Make healthy eating fun!
You may be thinking- how do I make eating healthy foods fun? Well, there are plenty of ways to do this. One way is to have your child come up with a new meal or snack. Maybe name this new dish after your child. Another idea is to eat foods with fun shapes and colors. For example, make pancakes and cut banana into slices to use as eyes and put blueberries together in the shape of a smile. Be as creative as you want!
For additional resources and information, please visit https://www.myplate.gov/life-stages/toddlers or https://www.myplate.gov/life-stages/preschoolers.