| 10 Tips for Not Supporting Picky Eating [Angelle] |  |  |
| Written by Angelle |
| Thursday, 18 September 2008 15:00 |
 One concern that often comes up is dealing with Picky Eaters. I don't have picky eaters. They'll try anything...from alligiator to collard greens to kale to sushi to venison. While there may be a bit of 'luck' in the fact that they are not picky, there is more to it than that. I can look back and see points where they could have easily gone in the picky direction. I was very conscious of the fact that I wanted to create Adventurous Eaters and made decisions to support that goal. 10 Tips for Not Supporting Picky Eating that have worked for me are: 1. Having the expectation that your kids will try anything and everything and acting out that expectation daily. (Don't think or say aloud "She'll never eat that.") 2. Modeling being adventurous myself and not biasing them towards food. (except organic, dark chocolate of course - which they also love...) 3. Using language to support being an Adventurous Eater - "This is going to be really exciting to try something I've never tried before." or "Wow, you tried something new - good for you - you really are an adventurous eater!" 4. Avoiding language that supports picky eating - "Why are you being so picky?" or "She would never eat that." Language is extremely powerful and we help children create an identity by the way we talk about them, whether it is around eating, learning, sports, etc. 5. Offering the same foods over and over even when they get rejected. It can take 20 or more times for your child to enjoy a food. (Jacob and Lucas went for months and months, actually years, saying they didn't like sweet potatoes, but now they eat them no problem.) 6. Not categorizing food as 'kids' food vs. 'adult' food. Have kids order off the regular menu when eating out. 7. Not making or letting kids make an alternative to meals. If they don't like something, I ask, "How can you make it work for you?" In the beginning, often the answer was ketchup! If they know there is an 'out' then why would they ever eat what you have on the table? (Once kids are Adventurous Eaters, you can determine if they really don't like a food because they are sensitive to it or it just doesn't sit right in their tummies - that's a different situation.) 8. Enforcing a 2-Bite Rule - 2 Bites of each food have to make it to your tummy. 9. Keeping in mind the bigger picture. Unless a child has a severe sensory issue, which is a medical problem, they are not going to starve themselves. They may hold out to see how serious you are and they may not make it pleasant, but know that in the bigger picture helping create a healthy sense of adventure around eating is more important. 10. Involving them in shopping and preparing foods. It takes longer, but it is a great investment 0f time and energy. The subtle energy we bring to the situation really impacts how we deal with picky eaters. Shift your focus to what you want (creating an Adventurous Eater) and let go of focusing on what you don't want (a Picky Eater), even if you're just thinking it in your own head. And use language that supports what you want to create... |
3 comments:
great article! I still think there's a lot of "luck" involved though (and maybe heredity) --thankfully my girls seem to have inherited my husband's genes and not my own. It's possible that I'm still a pickier eater than they are :) and I know my mom tried everything with me as a child.
C, I LOVE your picture. I love this article too. Makes a lot of sense. Danielle
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