If you’re the parent of a toddler, you’ve probably wondered to yourself, “Is the child living on air?”

At some point, your once-voracious and easy-to-please baby will become a child who seems to eat nothing, or, when he does eat, gets stuck in a rut. Last week’s favorite, granola and shredded cheese, is replaced this week by raisins and rice.

At some point, you hope, it will all work itself out and, somehow, he’ll eat a balanced diet. At some point, most children are just picky eaters. What does a parent do to ensure such a child eats something resembling a healthy diet?

Toddlers love to assert their independence. They hear “no” so often that it is fun for them to get the chance to say it themselves.

Refusing to eat what is put before them is an easy way to be the one in charge. Offering your toddler a limited choice might satisfy his need to call the shots while allowing him to have either carrots or peas, both healthy choices.

Don’t give too much choice, though. The open ended question, “What do you want to eat?” gives your picky eater far too much leeway to choose something inappropriate.

New foods can be too new for a toddler to want to eat the first time around. You may have to introduce a new food several times before your picky eater will want to try it. Smells, textures, shapes, and colors can be off-putting, and getting used to a new food over time can help. If he doesn’t like mashed sweet potatoes today, try them again in a few weeks.

Try making food fun. Use a cookie cutter to cut sandwiches into favorite shapes, or make fruit-and-yoghurt smoothies. Shape pancakes into Mickey Mouse’s silhouette or use raisins to make e faces on pear halves. If you’re enthusiastic about the food, chances are your toddler will be, too.

Serving small portions of a variety of foods will help your picky eater find something he likes. You don’t have to feel like a short-order cook, catering to his every whim, but if you serve banana slices and apple slices, he may like the variety.

Once your child is able to understand the connection between good food and energy, use that to your advantage. If you remind him that, unless he eats his vegetables, he won’t have enough energy to enjoy the playground, he may listen up. If you offer healthy drinks, he’ll be less likely to fill up on juice and not want to eat his lunch.

If you’re concerned that your picky eater’s diet is not complete, sneak some nutrition into what he will eat. Add flaxseed to oatmeal, or cubed apples to sloppy joes, for instance. Nobody will be the wiser if you sprinkle wheat germ on your toddler’s cereal or smooth it into his applesauce.

Chances are that offering a selection of foods, allowing your child to have some choice, and being creative with food choices will help your child get over his pickiness. It may try your patience and stretch the limits of your food-presentation imagination, but your child’s tastes will likely broaden as he gets older.

Another great resource for helping picky eaters is a book called "Teaching Children About Food". This book along with another book entitled "Meals Without Squeals" are both wonderful resources for parents experiencing feeding problems.