Coping with a picky eater
Is your toddler a picky eater? Do they refuse food, turn their
nose up at anything even remotely healthy, or generally drive you
crazy by not seeming to eat anything at all for days on end? Our
Expert Nutritionist Leanne Cooper of Cadence Health and Sneakys is a
mum of two, so she knows all about picky eating. Here are her best
tips and advice on coping with a picky eater.
Should I be worried?
Toddlers and preschoolers often request fad foods, turn up
their noses at any food with a hint of green or only eat food
presented in an unusual 
way. They tend to dawdle
over meals and quickly lose interest or be tempted elsewhere. We
call this stage "picky eating". It is quite different from a more
troublesome eating problem called food neophobia (a fear
of new foods) which tends to be related to personality issues such
as anxiety, making it harder to resolve. Because picky eating is a
developmental stage, it generally doesn't inhibit healthy
development in children. However, true neophobia can reduce dietary
variety and place stress on parents and caregivers.
"How long will this go on for?" I hear you ask, despairing of
your little one's nutrition. For some, the picky eating phase may
persist right up until school age. Given the right environment,
most children will spontaneously grow out of this phase at around
that time. Healthy children rarely starve themselves and in fact
are very good at meeting their daily energy needs even if it isn't
in the pattern we would prefer. The best advice is to be
persistent, don't make a fuss, and accept that the behaviour will
pass. As long as your child is offered healthy food, all you can do
is trust that what they choose to eat will be good for them.
So, don't despair, take consolation in the fact that your
child's behaviour is quite normal, and keep offering them a wide
variety of foods along with their "flavour of the month". Use
positive reinforcement and fun, and be a good role model.
Why is my child a picky eater?
Children reject foods for many reasons. It may be that
they find the appearance and smell of the food off-putting. Perhaps
they see other family members or their peers rejecting the food and
wonder why they should be made to eat it. They may even be having
trouble getting the food onto a fork or into their mouths; perhaps
they are unwell or they might even be teething. Other reasons could
be a natural suspiciousness of new things and their increasing
ability to exercise their independence or control. So, as you can
see, there are many possible explanations for picky eating and
each child will be different.
What can I do to ensure my child isn't missing
out?
Forcing or coercing a child to eat a food is inadvisable.
Try to set up a good meal-time routine and also discourage
snack-eating too close to main meals as main meals tend to be more
nutritious.
Always
encourage your child's choices: they are more likely to eat a food
they themselves have chosen.
Another way of involving your child in their food selection is
allowing them to gather food, ie: growing/picking vegetables in
your own garden or picking them at the supermarket and involving
them in the preparation of meals.
Remember that food rejection is a normal behaviour for most
toddlers and preschoolers. Meal-times should always be
family-orientated and enjoyable. Do not overestimate the importance
of togetherness during meals for a child's overall development. And
don't forget that children learn from you so be a good example. Try
to invent ways to incorporate rejected foods and make the meals
attractive to the eye. Remove the plate when they have finished and
offer a healthy snack later if you feel they may still be hungry.
See the tips box over page for more ideas.
Can I make it worse?
Don't coax, beg, use trickery or rewards (which can have
the reverse effect) as this will always backfire on you and cause
more strife. Children can be put off their food when eating becomes
stressful. Take it gently, don't rush your child through their
meals, teach them to eat slowly - remember, it takes up to 20
minutes for the brain to tell the body that it has been
sufficiently fed; this will also avoid overeating. Whenever
possible, ensure that your child does not eat alone. Again, let me
emphasise the value of togetherness during meal-times for your
child's overall development. Eating in front of the TV is not
advisable as the meal and those eating it should be the centre of
attention.
Remember, it's up to parents and carers to offer nutritious food
for children to choose from!
When should I worry?
- Research suggests that most picky eaters will grow out of this
stage at their own pace, particularly if their closest role models
have healthy eating habits for them to emulate.
- A child may be slim, healthy and growing well which is fine;
another child may be overweight, appear to eat little and may need
their diet and physical activity reviewed.
- A healthy child doesn't starve themselves to death from
refusing to eat food.
- However, if a child is underweight and doesn't appear to be
growing well, you should consult a healthcare professional.
- Significant weight stagnation, gain or loss in a child should
be discussed with a healthcare professional.
- Likewise, if you are still concerned about the health status of
a picky eater or a food neophobic child, you may wish to discuss
the concerns with a doctor, nutritionist, dietitian or child health
professional.
Practical Tips
- Involve your little one in meal preparation, cooking, serving
etc.
- Grow vegies or vegie bits (i.e. carrots and sprouts in
containers on the bench).
- Be clever with food by hiding fruit and vegies where you can:
for example, you can include pumpkin in scones, grate vegies into
meals, puree fruit into smoothies or include fruit in their
yoghurt. I try to consider colour so I put red vegies into
tomato-based pasta sauces, white vegies into baking etc.
- Try to involve others - such as carers - in your child's
meal-time. For example, if your child attends family day care, try
asking the carer to give them a main meal at lunch.
- Try to be creative with food: make hedge hogs, faces, houses,
and discuss the foods you child is selecting, for example, 'Oh my
goodness, are you eating the clown's nose, now how will he smell
things?' It is a great way to make meal-times fun.
- Consider using iron-fortified cereals as they offer more
absorbable iron than many foods and this will help with growth and
immunity.
- Be persistent and don't give up. Continue to put a variety of
foods on your child's plate and don't make a fuss if it goes
uneaten. Simply take the plate away (even if it means the dog is
getting a little plump!). Even if the meal is rejected, your child
is still being exposed to food that will form a part of their diet
later on.
- Don't let children fill up on snacks too close to
meal-time.
- Remember, excessive milk can affect iron uptake so don't rely
too heavily on this drink.
- Ensure all meals - including snacks - include some form of
protein (meat, dairy, egg, nuts, seeds, pulses, fish
etc). Grind up nuts and seeds and add them to your child's
breakfast each morning, add to smoothies, frittatas, baking
etc. With smoothies, don't forget to add natural yoghurt and
opt for additions such as almonds, oats or rice that have around
100mg of calcium per 100ml. *
- Freeze smoothies and make cool iceblocks that are a meal in
themselves.
- Add tiny amounts of treats to foods; for example, make cream
cheese crackers with a smidge of additive-free hundreds and
thousands. Or pop a few on a banana and freeze etc.
- And remember to always be a good example.
* Caution with nut allergy
This content was provided by Leanne Cooper of Sneakys
Buy Leanne's Book 'What do I Feed My
Baby?' here
1 comment for “Coping with a picky eater”