Preventing Picky Eating

How to keep your child from becoming a picky eater? Preventing a picky eater starts when your child is a toddler. The beginning of a picky eater is a child who has fresh new taste buds, and does not know what they will enjoy or not enjoy.

In order to keep your child from becoming a picky eater, it is important to start giving them a variety of healthy foods early on. There should be about two new options given each week. If the child tastes the food and does not like it, then set that food aside and try it again at a later date.

The child will learn to eat what they are given. However, there are some tastes that a child just will not like due to the texture, the smell, the taste, or the look. It just may be something they will not eat. Therefore it is a testing period at first to find out what they will eat.

The biggest thing is to not give in to the old “My child will starve” thinking. Pediatricians all over will tell you that there are no children that will starve themselves instead of eating their vegetables.

Take into consideration the fact that there are just some foods that may taste better to a child or adult for that matter. This means that it is a food that they would want more of. However if those foods are not limited, and other food isn’t in place to create a healthy diet, then the child could become malnourished.

There are many fun ways to help a child learn to eat a healthy diet. You can do a taste test game every once in awhile. This is a good way to introduce 3 or 4 new foods into the child’s diet. You can also have the child help you pick out the healthy foods they want to eat from the grocery store.

A child will learn to eat what they are given. This can be good food, or junk food. What is available when they eat or snack? It is up to you to show your child the right things to eat.

This leads to the fact that children do what they are shown. If they see their parents eating a healthy variety of foods, then they will likely follow. If they are encouraged to try different foods on a regular basis, they will get used to knowing that new foods can be both good and bad, whatever their taste buds tell them.

It is a good idea when you are trying to keep your child from becoming a picky eater that you only have them eat one bite. The One Bite Rule will teach the children that it is ok if they do not like something, however anyone can take one bite to try it out. You might be surprised what you can get your children to try. In turn they may be surprised about what they will like to eat.

When you are trying to teach your children to eat a variety of foods, remember that their taste buds are likely more sensitive than yours. With this in mind, try to keep foods a little blander, and more natural. This will appeal to their taste buds on a more frequent basis. The other thing to keep in mind is that bite size food that they can control is always better.

With this in mind you are now on your way to keeping your child from being a picky eater. It is up to you to help them create a healthy eating pattern that they will have for a lifetime.