Meal times can be extremely frustrating to parents as it is, even when their children aren’t picky eaters. Throw a fussy eater into the mix and meal times become almost impossible to navigate. From making several different meals for your family to attempting to coerce your little one to at least “take one bite,” parents everywhere are tired of the dinner battles.
Rest assured though, there are ways to encourage picky eaters to try new things. Below we share a few steps you can take to remove the pressure from yourself and your child, all while encouraging them to try new things without having to make different meals.
Let Them Pick Off Your Plate
Kids are more apt to try new foods when they see their parents eating them first. A great way to get picky eaters to try new things is to allow them to choose items off of your plate. Your child is more inclined to try something if they don’t feel the pressure of having it on their plate first.
Make it Fun
Children can easily be turned off by the look of a food they have not yet tried, but there are ways to make new foods more appealing to picky eaters. It can be as simple as making food items into cute shapes. Use cookie cutters to create shapes out of vegetables, cheese and more, making it more likely they will at least try it. When my son was younger this was his favourite way to eat!
Be a Role Model
Your children are watching you closely every day. Do not be a hypocrite when it comes to trying new foods. If it’s something that you refuse to eat, then chances are they won’t eat it either. The most important thing you can do is model a good relationship with a variety of different foods from the get-go.
Mix New and Old
Try adding something new to your little one’s favourite meal. Children are more tempted to try new food items when they are mixed in with something familiar to them. Try adding peas to macaroni and cheese or making broccoli nuggets rather than chicken nuggets. Your children may not even notice they are trying something new.
Get Kids Involved
Getting your children involved in food preparation and cooking is a fantastic way to influence them to try new things. Kids take great pride in something they have made, making it more likely that they will eat it. Small tasks can have huge payoffs, even if they are just mixing a salad, your children will be excited they helped. Or like these yummy Nut-Free Acorn Cookies that my son learned to make all on his own!
Prepare the Same Meal for Everyone
If you have been preparing separate meals for everyone, now is the best time to stop. If your children are constantly given special meals to eat they will never attempt to try new foods. The meals need to remain consistently the same for everyone at the table.
Take Them Shopping
Children like to have options and make their own choices. Allow them to come grocery shopping with you and let them look around at everything available. Allow them to choose three new items they want to try and let them carry and pay for them on their own. This will give them a sense of excitement and responsibility, making it more likely they will try new things.
As you can see there are several ways to encourage picky eaters to try new things. Allow them to pick off your plate, be a role model, make it fun, mix new and old, get your kids involved, prepare the same meal for everyone and take them grocery shopping with you. In no time, you will see your little one take interest in trying new food items.
Is there a different approach you take to getting picky eaters to try out new foods? Please share with us in the comments!
FT&PD
Suz
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Great ideas. I think it helps to set a good example. I bought & ate fruit, so they did too.
It definitely works to set the example. I find that my kids have the same favourites as I and don’t like the same things I don’t. Makes me more aware of what not to do next time,LOL.
Great tips! I wish we were allowed to be picky eaters back in the day. We ate everything on our plate or got a spanking, lol.
Haha, that is so true Christina! If we didn’t eat something on our plate, we sat at the table until it was gone or we were served it for breakfast the next day. Times have changed, huh?
Thanks for the great tips.
It’s true making it fun give them a whole new look on food !
Great ideas.
What about picky husbands, my granddaughter likes more foods then my husband lol
I found that having kids help you cook the meals gets them involved and they will try new things and often make them less picky.
Many neat and creative ideas to entice those who may have a rather complicated preference
As a kid I remember my mother made us try everything because she said you don’t know what you like until you try it
I always try new foods and encourage the grandkids to do the same. I have been surprised many times at new dishes I actually enjoyed very much !
Picky eaters of the world unite!