Having a child who’s a picky eater feels like a neverending battle of the wills. My daughter has
Through my trials and tribulations, I’ve learned 5 things to expand kids’ palates–that actually work:
Tip #1: Hide veggies in food they like
In the beginning, my oldest never latched to breastfeed. I pumped and then dried up. While she was formula fed, I also tried other solid food. She basically refused anything other than kale smoothies. With her SPD, in hindsight, it was the healthiest she ever “ate”. I didn’t know it then, but eventually, her sensory sensitivities led to her surviving off graham crackers and yogurt. Occasionally she would eat more or drink instant breakfast packets. With years of patience and work, she now enjoys meats and sauces that I add pureed veggies to along with fruit and veggie smoothies that I call her “unicorn drink”.
Tip #2: Make food attractive with silliness
Nothing works the same for every meal. What works most consistently is making the food fun. Sometimes that may mean giving something healthy a silly name. In our house, we call smoothies unicorn drinks or superhero drinks and talk about how strong and magical they make us. Nicknames help make the food more recognizable or relatable. Calling lasagna pizza pie, or hard boiled eggs food H
Tip #3: Early intervention is invaluable
It may seem silly to change the name of basic foods, but at one point (or several points) I was desperate. Until you’ve made pureed green bean tacos or have looked at your kids and wondered what you were doing so wrong, it doesn’t seem so worrisome. At first I assumed the kids would just outgrow this. Without Skylar’s diagnosis I probably would not have realized what was wrong or how to fix it. With food therapy and occupational therapy, all of the kids have thrived. Basically anything I can get Skylar to eat, the others will try. Sometimes picky eater is a symptom of something larger. Getting a child the help to develop their skills is helpful for everyone. When all else fails an evaluation isn’t a harmful choice.
Tip #4: Full body health leads to more consistent food choices
A benefit of occupational therapy for us was Skylar not only learning from food therapy, but her overall sense of self and muscle strength improved. When she started to improve overall, her eating difficulties lessened. Since we entered kindergarten anxiety flare ups have been common. Allowing her to run around and get regular exercise paired with brushing and chewlry keeps her level. The more consistent she is the better she eats. When she is stressed we try to regulate and when it is bad her comfort food tendencies come back.
Tip #5: Pick your battles
While I wish I was preaching the holy grail of ending food perkiness, I’m not. This story ends with no real advice other than pick your battles. Raising a daughter in a time when our relationships with food is already so critiqued, I don’t need to give her a complex myself. On bad days, I can exhaust my options and myself only to lose. Days like today, I can bribe her to eat spinach in exchange for brownies. So many factors play into how and what she eats. Some days I cook 5 different dinners and throw in the towel. More often than not, lately, I’ve only been cooking one. While I want good eaters, at the end of my parenting experience, I also want my sanity.
