5 Tips to Winning the Battle with a Picky Eater

Were you a picky eater when you were a kid? Depending on how old you are now that may have been so long ago that who remembers. Like everything else selective memory kicks in and no we were not picky eaters. Whatever mom put on the plate we ate. So why is my kid so picky about what he eats.

Do you feel like you have to go to battle with your children every meal. If your child or children pick at their food and you have to practically force it down their mouth then this article may be of interest to you.

- What kind of an eater on you now. I still do no really like peas or green vegetables in general. If I say to my wife " oh, no not peas again", can I really expect my kids to want to eat theirs? As parents we have to be upbeat about all of our foods even when we do not want to.

- What kind of snacks do you eat. I like Cheetos and anything with chocolate. Surprise! My kids do not eat as much fruit as they should and when I get home from work the Cheetos are all gone. I would hide them, but they are on to that trick as well.

- How often do you snack. There is really nothing that creates a picky eater more than a full eater. If they have pigged out on snacks it is no wonder they do not want to eat the food on their plate. All snack requests go through you from now on. The kitchen is off limits 1 hour before dinner time.

- For really picker eaters you are going to have to try and wait them out. Keep trying to get them to eat even small bites. As kids get older they learn to like more things. When they are younger they do not know what everything tastes like and you have a chance to get them to like something now.

- Don't take it personal. If you have spent a considerable amount of effort to put a well rounded meal on the table only to have it rejected it is only natural to become defensive and say " I slaved over this meal and you are going to eat it if it is the last thing you do." We both know that approach does not work.

Finally be sure your kids are taking a good daily vitamin. You will never get them to eat everything and a good daily vitamin will help balance out what they may be missing. Picky eaters are a fact of life for a parent and in the long run you will look back and laugh about it some day.