Need advice on picky eater...

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Permalink Reply by Sam Squealer on June 4, 2008 at 12:23pm

I read this tip once in a CoolSavings newsletter...maybe it will help a little:

Try serving foods your children don't like in new ways. If your child insists she hates spaghetti, serve spiral-shaped or bow-tie pasta instead. Also, cutting veggies in fun shapes makes them fun to eat.

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Permalink Reply by Sylvia on June 4, 2008 at 4:01pm

My daughter (2 years old) is extremely picky as well and hates to try new things. So...I just started being sneaky and mix in new/healthy foods into some of her favorites.

I puree carrots, peas and other veggies I have on hand and mix some of the mixture into spaghetti and pizza sauce. I also shred some veggies very fine and tell her its "sprinkles" that i sprinkle onto her mac and cheese, rice or mashed potatoes.

Even though she never wants to try new foods, I still ask her every time we sit down to eat if she would like to try something off my plate. Occasionally she will say yes and learns to like a new food!

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on September 22, 2008 at 11:23am

I have a 9 year old that would never try new foods because he knew I wanted him to. I learned my lesson. I have never told or asked my 5 year old to try new foods. I just served him the meal and hoped for the best. He has eaten fruits and all kinds of vegetables (evan radishes!!!) since he was able to ear table food! The moral of the story for me was to just leave them alone and see what happens!

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Permalink Reply by John Peterson on September 24, 2009 at 3:24pm

hmm.. an interesting approach. Thanks for sharing!

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Permalink Reply by L on October 29, 2008 at 6:17pm

Sometimes making food fun to eat helps then take it down. Like making a smiley face on the plate with veggies and stuff. :)

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Permalink Reply by GreatSunny on October 30, 2008 at 5:00pm

How about blind folding him so he doesn't know what he's eating. Just tell, him, "Let's play a game called, These are not vegetables". :-p

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Permalink Reply by Sylvia on October 30, 2008 at 5:39pm

Haha. If only that would work with my daughter lol. I would probably get the "not vegetables" spit back on me.

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Permalink Reply by Lana on November 1, 2008 at 7:05pm

I like the blind folding idea...it IS all about making meal time fun and not stressful. So, like mentioned above, I feed my picky eater the same meal as us, but with some substitutions. For example: If we are eating tuna salad sandwiches (which I know he does not like), I will give him tuna and then bread on the side; if we are eating nachos (which, again, he does not eat), then I will give him nacho chips separate from the veggies and cheese....this seems to work.

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Permalink Reply by GreatSunny on November 13, 2008 at 8:30pm

make eating fun for him. I was a picky eater as a child mostly because I felt that I had to be someone else other than eating dinner....like watching T.V. So maybe have a small T.V. in the kitchen and let him choose what to watch while you eat. Also pay attention to what he likes and get that often. I was the most picky eater and trust me if you make eating not a chore he will start to get into it.

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