How to Change a Picky Eater's Appetite

If you ever wondered how you could get your child to eat a well balanced meal then read on...

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Understanding
• Patience
• Picky Eater
• Food

1. Understanding: Although it can be stressful to feed your child only certain foods, you need to take a moment to understand your child. Remove the universal lable "Picky" and change it to "Selective" or "Particular". Ex. My child isn't "picky" about his food, he is just very "selective or particular" about what he eats - just as you are.

2. Introduction: Be patient. A child, like adults, like to make choices, so allow him some. Prepare 3 vegetables (or whatever) that you know he needs. Tell him he needs to taste them for you, and help you decide which one or two to make. Tasting foods (even tiny bits of your own) helps introduce a larger selection, and help you truly identify his likes and dislikes.

3. Resistance: Most children don't like certain foods because they look weird, their parent looks at it weird, or their parent complains about it. And the biggest yet, is the parent just doesn't give it to them. See a theme here. If they end up not liking something, at that time, try it at a later date.

4. Praise: Tell him how much you appreciated him helping you make such a tough decision, and that you have made him the official food taster (when necessary).

Tips & Warnings

• Turn food tasting into something fun.
• Have him taste something new every day.
• Remember, a person is never too old to taste something new.
• Don't always give in, set some limits. It is your child's health.
• You're contributing to what he eats, so be "selective or particular" too.
• Don't introduce only fatty foods.
• Your child will be asking for more!