Although my baby is currently in my womb, and not at the dinner table, one of the ‘down the road’ moments that I’m most concerned about is the picky eating phase. I’d love to raise a child that is an adventurous and healthy eater – but I realize that this may be difficult, especially when they’re a toddler!
The ubiquitous Dr. Sears has a great (free!) PDF called Dr. Sears’ Guide to Feeding Toddlers: 20 Tips for Pleasing the Picky Eater. Here are my five favorite tips from the document. Heck, these techniques would make me eat healthier, too!
Click through to read the tips.
- Creating a nibble tray: Dr. Sears recommends using an ice cube tray or a muffin tray to create a ‘customized smorgasbord’ of healthy eats, like ‘apple moons,’ ‘banana wheels,’ ‘carrots swords,’ and Cheerios.
- Drink it: Kids may be more willing to eat fruit when it is in chilly smoothie form. Dr. Sears say to sneak in raw spinach ‘slowly’ because it gives fruit smoothies a green or grayish hue, which may turn kids off (even if they can’t taste it).
- Cut it up: Use cookie cutters to cut peanut butter or hummus sandwiches in fun shapes, like gingerbread men, stars, and hearts.
- Share it: If a child is really struggling to eat healthy foods, invite a slightly older child that you know enjoys the foods over for lunch or dinner. Your child may mimic the older kid’s behavior, deciding that healthy foods are cool after all.
- Use sit-still strategies: Want to know one reason that kids squirm at the dining room table? It’s because their legs are dangling from adult-sized chairs. Dr. Sears says the same things happen to adults when they sit at bar stools. Sit your child in a child-sized chair at a small table and watch the difference it makes.