Getting children to eat a new food can be a difficult task. Kids can be picky and many parents don't know why. It can be frustrating and irritating to deal with a picky eater. Fortunately, there are a few tricks that may make it easier to get your child to try something new.

The most effective way to get your child to eat the family meal without complaints, is to involve them in the process. Have your child assist you with preparing the meal. Depending on the age, your child may be able to set the table, take items out of the pantry and hand them to you, wash the vegetables, or stir the ingredients together. Be cautious with sharp objects and stoves or ovens, but involve them. An added benefit of having your child help is the conversations you can have when you are preparing a meal. It is a great way to teach your child how to cook without them realizing it! At dinner time, make sure everyone know just how much you appreciated the help and how great the meal is because of it. This will encourage your child to keep helping you and may end up being the next Emeril Lagasse!

Some parents suggest serving the new food and nothing else until the child tries at least one bite. This may work for some children, especially if you are serving the child's favorite meal. However, if you have a particularly stubborn child, like mine, then all food will be wasted, you will have a hungry child, and you may be even more frustrated. It's worth a try to see if it is a tactic that will work for your child. If it does, congratulations! If not, there are more suggestions.

My favorite trick is deception! I know, it's bad but it works well for my children. I hide the new item in things that they are used to. I have added a bell pepper to the pasta sauce to see if they notice. One did, the other didn't. they both ate the sauce anyway since it was pasta, but my daughter doesn't prefer the bell peppers. At that point, I made sure to tell her that it's okay not to like something, but I appreciated that she tried. This positive reinforcement made it easier next time for her to try the new item.

Another great idea is to make the item fun. Create a picture on the plate with the new foods. Whether you use the child's favorite shape, sports ball, a smiley face, or spell out something it will be unique and may spark your child's interest. I tried this idea when my son refused to try honeydew. I knew he would most likely enjoy honeydew, but he thought it looked gross. So I created a smiley face with his other favorite fruits - grapes and strawberries. The smile was made of honeydew, the grapes where the eyes, and the nose was a strawberry, so it looked like a clown. It made him laugh and after eating the grapes and strawberry, he tried the honeydew without realizing it. He ended up loving the honeydew. Cutting the food into shapes is a great way to encourage your child to try new things.

If it's fruits or vegetables that you are trying to sneak into their diets, try smoothies. Most kids love smoothies as they seem like a treat similar to ice cream or milk shakes, so having a smoothie in the morning is exciting. It is easy to blend in the extra nutrients without your child knowing, using the right combinations of fruits and veggies, your child may not even realize they are drinking a healthy food.

Try putting the food into different serving styles. Instead of sandwich bread try tortillas, bagels, English Muffins, or ice cream cones. Instead of serving sandwiches cold, try heating them. Sandwiches are great warm, and not just grilled cheese.

Serving a new item with dipping sauces is a big hit. For some reason, everything seems to taste better to kids if they are allowed to dip it. Whether it is in ketchup, mustard, ranch, peanut sauce, or another dip, kids are enthusiastic when it comes to dips. For a fantastic reaction, serve more than one dip! Your kids won't know what to do!

Another great way to encourage your child to eat what you serve is to style. Sometimes all it takes is serving the item in a new dish. Kids are drawn to the unusual, so serving you casserole in a heart shaped bowl may bring more cheers than jeers. Or have a special dish that only comes out on special occasions and serve the new food on it. Being able to use the special dish should be a big event, so don't bring it out to often or it negates the purpose. Use it for a good report card, a great game, or a birthday. Whatever you choose be sure that everyone in the family knows how special this dish is and how wonderful it is to be able to use it.

It is hard to serve picky eater new items, But with patience, love, understanding, and creativity it doesn't have to be impossible. Remain calm and try new ways to serve your foods. Don't give up if one method did not work, try others. Continue serving that item until your child tries it and decided that they truly don't like it. I tell my kids, don't say you don't like it until you try it. If you try it and don't like it, then we will talk. Usually they end up liking it. If they don't I try to remember and not serve it to that child. I have also learned that our kids respond how others around them respond. So everyone needs to be on board when a new item is served. Adults have a tremendous impact on how a child reacts to new things. So if your spouse moans and groans, your child most likely will too. Have an understanding with your spouse that even if they don't like the food, they won't say anything negative, or give negative looks in front of the kids. Otherwise, your efforts will fail. Good luck feeding your picky eater. I hope you find the trick that works for you.