Expert Tips For Picky Eaters
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Plain pasta with butter? Grilled cheese? Chicken fingers and fries? If these are your child’s three favourite food groups, here are some easy, expert tricks you can try – guaranteed to tempt even the pickiest eater!
Picky eaters: Do they eat enough?
If every meal is fraught with questions (Did they eat enough meat? Enough veggies? Or enough altogether?), it’s time to take a step back. “Kids’ appetites fluctuate with their level of activity, their mood and their growth,” says Stephanie Jamain, a registered dietitian in Montreal. “So don’t stress over a couple of unbalanced meals — or even days.”
Sure, it’s good to strive for balance, adds Melanie Stokes, from Kids Eat Smart Foundation in St. John’s. “You can aim for three of the four food groups for breakfast, and four for four at lunch and dinner, but don’t worry if it doesn’t happen every time.” Over the course of a week, most kids will eat what they need, agrees Jennifer House, owner of First Step Nutrition in Calgary. A parent’s job is to decide what’s for dinner, a kid’s job is to decide how much of it to eat — so you choose the quality, kids choose the quantity.
“Many parents try to control how much their kids eat, but this just leads to power struggles,” says House. Letting kids learn their own satiety signals means they’re less likely to grow up with appetite control issues or disordered eating. “If your child is healthy, has energy and is an appropriate weight, don’t waste time worrying about how much they eat at a meal,” she says.