ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The best ways to cope with fussy and Picky eaters

Updated on October 27, 2010

What are Fussy or Picky eaters

In every walk of life there are people who are ‘picky eaters’. With adults it look very much like an eating disorder or just plain unhealthy eating with certain preferences, for example the person may have a burger from a fast-food outlet but without the gherkin or tomato sauce. With children, it has a tendency to show itself as a child preferring to eat certain foods to another i.e. chocolate, or spaghetti over meat and vegetables. There are many reasons for a picky eater within children/toddlers and there are many ways in which it can be tackled at this young age, so that as adults they can enjoy healthy eating.

Children, especially toddlers tend to become picky about what they eat around the age of 2, this can be for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it may be that they don’t trust the food they are eating, a fear of new things called ‘neophobia’. Some people think that this is a quirk that humans developed over the years of evolution to protect themselves, ‘you don’t try new things as you don’t know if they are safe or not’. Picky eating can also be a way of your child/toddler showing his/her independence over you as a parent, with the attitude ‘you can’t make me eat this’. Sometimes, your child may just not eat that much due to him/her being unable to sit still in the same place long enough, due to them having a short attention span

There was a study conducted which showed that 49% of mothers considered their child to be a ‘picky eater’. Out of the 49%, all children were found to be receiving a variety of foods so as to meet their nutritional needs.

Picky eater

How can you help a Fussy or Picky eater?

Here are a few different ways in which you can approach the problem of ‘picky eaters’;

1. Provide a variety of good foods that your child likes, but remembering to limit the quantity of choice at mealtimes, for example instead of offering 4 things for lunch only give them the choose of 2.

2. If you normally say ‘It’s dinner time, what would you like?’ your child will invariable pick foods that they are comfortable with. However if you rephrase this to say ‘Dinner is ready’, they will most likely eat the food that they are comfortable with. Obviously you can not dish up a meal with all new foods, so try and add 1 or 2 new foods to a dish of comfort foods, i.e. 1 new food to 1 liked food. They will then in time learn to trust these new foods and may well try them. All new foods should be added in small quantities to start with until your child is accustomed to seeing them on their plate.


3. As your child gets older, let them become involved in their food choices. Ask them what they would like to eat during the week when you go shopping. Before you start to prepare meals for the evening, ask your child what they might like. This works best if you pick out a small selection of healthy foods and then let him pick from them.

4. If your child is nervous about new foods and will not try them, try to include them in your main meal. Your child may be more inclined to eat the new food if they see you eating it as well, it will show them that it is safe to eat, and that it will not harm them.

5. If you feel that after you have tried all of the normal tasks to encourage your child to eat, but feel that he is just trying to test your boundaries, (he will eat a little of something that he likes then refuse it, only to then eat all of something that he really likes, i.e. a jelly) then you can try pressurising your child into eating by putting any food that you cook, which is then refused into the bin. This invariable will cause tears and tantrums and is only for the strong willed parent, and you must stick with it for a day or two with all meals to see if it is going to work. Usually, if it is just your child testing the boundaries, then this option mostly works.

 For many children, being a picky eater will pass once they start playgroup or nursery, as they start to eat amongst other children. Their palate will grow and you will find them trying new things. You may find that they will eat things when they are out, but not at home.

Generally being a picky eater as a toddler does not have any long term nutritional affects, as toddlers and children have an innate sense as to how much food they need to get the nutrients that they need to grow and be healthy. However should you have concerns about the amount your child is eating, you should contact your health visitor to discuss these concerns. You should not let your child know about these concerns, and should try and keep meal times as fun and relaxed as possible. Provide a good balanced diet using food that your child likes as well as the new ones and you really cannot go far wrong.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)