Preventing Picky Eaters - workshop 2

Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend with their families. We are excited to clear out all the sugar craziness around here!

Last week was our second installment of the Feeding Healthy Kids workshop series. Here is a quick rundown of tips for preventing picky eaters, based on age. Remember to lean on that Division of Responsibility!

Newborn

• Feed on demand - parents decide what (breastmilk or formula), baby decides when, where, how much

6 Months

• Offer food, but don't force or trick them to eat it. Distracting them will work in the short-term, but will sabotage you later!
• If baby rejects the food 3 times in one sitting, put it away and try it again at another meal.
• Babies still get most of their calories and nutrients from breastmilk or formula for the first year, so the biggest goal in feeding solids is to expose them to foods and help them be physically and psychologically ready to eat solids.
• Expect messes! They are not only inevitable, but important for development.
• Playing with food and other "messy" things (sand, play dough, etc.) helps kids accept textures in their food. Find ways to expose your baby to playful situations with textures.
• This should be fun! Think of it as a conversation, and allow yourself to enjoy your baby during feeding.

Toddlers

• A normal toddler is a picky eater. Most pickiness is normal in this stage, and you can generally just look past it!
• Ignore some silliness - most things they will just grow out of. Save your energy and pick your battles!
• You can accommodate some preferences (broken crackers, cup color, food cooked a certain way) but cut it off when it starts becoming a burden
• Be kind but firm - no short order cooking. Some tantrums will happen :)
• Give some choices (do you want a banana or an apple?)
• Give small portions

Preschoolers

• Get them involved with their food! Have them help cook, pick things out at the store, look through cookbooks, etc.
• Start talking about hunger/fullness, nutrition in a non-threatening way

When to seek help

• Child starts losing weight
• List of "acceptable foods" keeps getting smaller and smaller
• Severe emotional or physical reactions to foods
• If you think it may be due to immature oral skills or sensory issues
• An occupational or physical therapist can help your child develop skills needed to be able to eat food with confidence

This is just the bare bones of what we talked about this week! Let me know if you have any questions! And please join us next time, April 16, for our final workshop!