If you try to get all of the food groups into one single plate, you might wind up with an unhappy picky eater. Sometimes, mealtime needs a hero! With kids, its fun to work together to pick a hero and let it shine. Maybe on Monday night, its broccoli, and youre working extra hard to come up with a creative recipe to let that hero steal the show. Perhaps on Friday, the star is cheese, and youre whipping up an old family recipe for a simple cheese pizza with homemade dough. When you pick a hero, it gives kids something to focus on and get excited about. When dinner is served, theyll know they did their part to help the hero shine!
When youre about to embark on one of your picky eater toddler meals, cut out the distractions. This means eliminating the TV, the iPad and the phone. Focus on the gift at hand, which is sharing a meal together as a family. If you have one available to you, set the dining table, get your toddler in a seat theyre comfortable in and relish in the art of mealtime. Talk to your picky eater about what theyre eating. What do they like about it? What dont they like about it? What does it make them think of? If you focus on sharing food as a family and talking about what the meal means to each of you, youll be surprised how engaged your toddler might become.
As a kid, its more than likely there were things you didnt like. Maybe you werent a fan of dairy, but you came from a family who loves cheese. Perhaps you didnt care for cooked broccoli, but you loved eating it raw and dipping it in ranch dressing. When youre exploring foods with young kids, one of the most important picky eater toddler tips is to be patient. If you get frustrated, chances are your kiddos will get frustrated, too. Alleviate the tension and be thankful to be on the food journey together!
