How to Feed Picky Eaters

Video Transcript

"Are you one of the many parents with a picky eater? Don't worry. My name is Erin Sheppard, with Austin Baby, and we're going to talk abut some great tips for feeding a picky eater. There are several things to consider when feeding a picky eater. It might just be their taste in food, but a lot of times it has a lot more to do with that. If it is the specific food, then the presentation of the food, and the types of food that you feed them might really have an impact. Here we have just a regular ice cube tray filled with all kinds of little snacks. Doesn't take too long to prepare. Most of these are fresh. For any age child; starting at around even as young as ten months, once your baby really understands the concept of cooking, you can have your child to help you prepare them. Give them a bowl about this size of cereal, and have them put the cereal into the snack tray, and and your child will really; even from a young age, take great pride in preparing that. And of course, as they get bigger they can do a a lot more. So, moving on to the process of eating, when you're talking about a younger child or even an older child, don't worry about getting a little messy. Here, we've covered the table with a splat mat, which can be very easily cleaned. You can just take it outside and hose it off or throw it in the washing machine. With a very young child, it's eating pureed style foods. It's quite all right to remove their clothes, or remove their shirt, and just let them go with their spoon or even with their fingers. They'll really enjoy touching those textures, and a lot more will make it into the mouth than if you are feeding them with a spoon against their will. For an older child, a really good idea is a placemat that not only is bright and colorful, but that has activities. This is still something that you can do with your child so that you're actually sharing the social moment of eating, and you're doing that together. But you can talk about the pictures. You can talk about the different information and the games that might be on the activity placemat. But, if none of these seem to work, one secret trick that just became a beautiful habit with my own son is eating outside. Every morning, we would prepare our breakfast, and then eat outside. And grant you; he never ate the full meal that I thought he should be eating, but after preparing the food and eating it outside, he definitely increased his appetite and ate a lot more. And not only was it really good for his health, but it was a wonderful, wonderful experience to do that every morning. So, good luck with your picky eater. I hope some of these tips will help out, and that you really enjoy eating together. I'm Erin Sheppard, with Austin Baby."