Coaxing a Picky Child into Trying New Foods

"Yuck!" If your dinnertime conversations are constantly being punctuated with this word, hollered by a small child disgusted with their mealtime choices, chances are you are living with a Picky Eater.

Picky Eater Syndrome (or P.E.S.), is a common childhood ailment where otherwise happy, normal kids form aversions to healthy food. Symptoms include intense dislike of any fruit or vegetable, causing one's self to become sick as to avoid trying something new, and/or month-long binges on specific, P.E.S. approved foods, such as mac and cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

There is hope for the parent of a child with P.E.S., however. Here are some tried and true ways of turning even the pickiest eater into a fine dining connoisseur (well, maybe not, but you get the idea):

Disguise it: The oldest "mom trick" in the book, sometimes all it takes to get your P.E.S. afflicted toddler to eat vegetables is to smother them in cheese (children seem to particularly enjoy the Velveeta variety). Variations on the disguise are fruits with yogurt or whipped cream on top, vegetables hidden under the cheese in pizza, or putting any acceptable food on top of the non-acceptable one, such as rice over steamed veggies (if they don't know they're eating it, they can't protest, right?).

Make it Special: Let your child sprinkle berries on top of vanilla ice cream for a special dessert, or have them help you add the ingredients to a blender to make a smoothie. Use a sugar-free ice cream, such as Breyer's Sugar Smart, as the fruit will add enough sweetness naturally. They think they're getting something out of the ordinary, while you'll know they're getting better nutrition.

The Illusion of Choice: Little ones get excited when they get to make decisions for themselves. Sometimes just the sense of accomplishment they feel from being allowed to choose between a banana or apple slices, for instance, is all it takes to get them to get their nosh on.

Make it Fun: Set out a tray of lots of tasty dips (ranch, bean, mild salsa, guacamole, etc), only instead of chips, let them use veggies to dip into the goodness (with a no-double-dipping rule, of course). For fruits, let them dip away in yogurt, whipped cream, or melted caramel. There isn't a kid alive that doesn't like the action of dipping, even those most affected with P.E.S.
Set an Example: Junior won't be likely to eat healthful foods if you're constantly pushing the good stuff aside for junk. Set a positive example for them early on. Also (this one works particularly well on my own little P.E.), during TV time, show your kids a video of their favorite characters eating healthy foods. Many kids' series offer a "healthy eating" episode, and if your
child realizes that Elmo or Blue love strawberries, he may decide he does as well.

Last but not least, keep trying. Often a child will refuse something after a small taste, only to come to really enjoy it later on. Keep offering small amounts of the foods, and they'll usually grow to like it. By implementing a few of these tricks, you can turn your own P.E. into one willing to eat more than hot dogs for breakfast, lunch and dinner.