Picky, picky, picky people

Every family has a child that won't eat. My little brother had not eaten voluntarily in over three years. ~Ralphie, A Christmas Story

Meal times are a battle in my house.

Alissa, my three-year-old, is an incredibly picky eater. She won't eat hamburger. She thinks cheese is a major food group. Alissa only likes chicken if it's followed by the phrase “and fries” and comes from the Wendy's across the street from our church. Green vegetables? Limited to celery, but only because the Wonder Pets eat it. She has about ten foods she likes on heavy rotation, and God bless the mother (me) who tries to introduce her to new ones.

As a result, we have tried a variety of methods to get her to eat more variety. Make her stay in her seat until she eats what I deem an acceptable amount. Take a no-thank-you bite. Reverse psychology. Mostly, I end up caving and giving things out that I know she'll eat.

I know she's not going to starve. After all, she's in the 75^th percentile for weight in her age group; she's obviously not withering away for lack of food. But her goal is to live on Cheez-its and animal crackers; my goal is to get her to eat a mostly nutritional diet.

I've been doing some reading about getting picky eaters to – well – eat. And here are the top 5 tips I've found:

• Hors d'oeuvres, anyone? Little kids are snackers. I thought this was just a genetic tendency handed down to Alissa from my husband, who never met a snack he didn't like. Turns out most kids are like this. And kids love cute names. So serve up apple moons, broccoli trees, carrot swords, and cheese building blocks.
• Dip it, spread it, top it. Serve veggies with ranch dressing. Top apples and crackers with peanut or almond butter. Use cream cheese, guacamole, tomato sauce, or applesauce to top a variety of foods. Bonus points if you let your child spread it. Which leads us to:
• Let the child help prepare the menu. Odds are that your child will be more likely to eat what they helped make. Toddlers can stir things together or pour liquids into a recipe. Preschoolers can help “chop” softer vegetables with a small crinkle cutter, which is safe for little hands. Get them involved and they'll take pride in eating what they make.
• Make healthy snacks accessible and reachable. Alissa is much more likely to snack on an apple or yogurt if she can get it out of the refrigerator herself. Not only does it foster independence for her, but it relieves me of a daily task! (And face it, you've got enough tasks on your list already.) Put healthy choices down low, where kids can easily get to them.
• Remember – they don't eat as much as we do. When I started really looking at Alissa's portion sizes, I realized I was giving her too much to eat. Thing is, kids have tiny tummies and they generally know when they've had enough. I could take a few cues from my child on how to only eat as much as I need.

Most importantly, relax. For all of us – even kids – it's about moderation. Take a cue from Sesame Street and teach kids about “every day foods” (fruits, veggies) and “sometime” foods (sweets, processed stuff, sugary drinks). Helping them to make good choices now will help them make lasting benefits far into the future.

Source: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t030800.asp