Green Eggs and Ham: How to Get a Picky Eater to Eat

You've begged. You've pleaded. You've tried the "no thank-you" bite. Yet, your toddler refuses to open up and eat. You know chicken nuggets and french fries are not the most nutritious choices to offer, but what can you do? If she eats nothing she'll starve, right?

For a frazzled parent at the mercy of a finicky, or highly selective eater, mealtimes can often feel like battle. A flying airplane whizzes by and scatters a spoonful of green pea bombs across the entire kitchen floor. There has to be an easier way!

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss is a delightful alternative to serve up to even the most precocious young critic of your household cuisine. Dr. Seuss' simple, repetitive, and rhyming language is a wonderful literary utensil which can quickly become the secret ingredient in a recipe for success where both you and your child enjoy a happy meal together.

1. Here or There

Toddlers often choose not to do something simply because someone else wants them to do it. As adults, we often confine ourselves to thinking that meals have to be eaten while seated at a table. Why? Well, because it is a socially acceptable adult behavior. Toddlers, however, hate to sit still and really cannot be expected to behave like adults. Approaching this problem from a toddler perspective is a lot different.

2. In the house

Instead of making a child eat at the table, go on a picnic around the house. Decide together where you will try new things to eat. It is important to keep safety in mind, and though I would caution against eating on the potty, what is really wrong with having a snack in the bathtub (without the water)? Change the eating environment. Go outside! Eat in the car, eat in a boat, or eat on a train.

Take a blanket, an umbrella, a special basket that you painted green for the occasion, or anything else that makes the adventure silly and fun. Don't forget your Green Eggs and Ham book either. Try bringing along green colored or apple-scented bubbles to blow bubbles together as if you were playing under the water with Sam-I-Am. If the car, boat, or train is out of the question, be creative and adapt the idea how you see fit. Let your child's Thomas the Tank Engine toy come to lunch or take a small plastic boat to an area pond and set sail together.

3. In a box

Recycle a large appliance box and turn it into your child's very own restaurant. If you do not have a really large box, you can easily adapt this idea to a bunch of small boxes. Hide a variety of food selections in each box and let your child discover which box is more tempting!

4. Mouse, Fox, Goat

Pretend that you are visiting a mouse family. Discuss with your child what mice eat and then have your child help you make a meal for mice. Grilled Cheese sandwiches and cheese crackers are quick and easy, but so is peanut butter. You can also create with your child a fox meal, or a goat meal. The sillier the better. Within reason, let your child tell you what each animal eats and if possible, try to work some of those items into the menu.

5. In the dark

Turn the lights off and eat by candlelight or flashlight. This can also be made into a game where you give your child something to taste in the dark and then he or she has to guess what it is without being able to see it.

6. Green, green, green

A little green food coloring goes a long way. Mashed potatoes, whipped cream, icing, rice, and milk are just a few possibilities that will look incredibly inviting as a cheerful shade of green. Be sure to serve up your green specialty dishes on their very own oval platter with a special fork, just like in the book.

With a little imagination and lots of love, reading and eating can turn into something your entire family is truly passionate about. Very soon, you will be saying thank you, thank you to the wonderful world of Dr. Seuss.