When it comes to picking eating kids, pediatricians have seen it all — from kids who don’t like vegetables to those who eat only pureed foods, refuse anything that isn’t sweet, children who only eat orange-colored foods, or kids who won’t try anything that isn’t pizza, dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, peanut butter, or cheese. If you have a picky eater in your household, understanding your child’s aversions, fears, likes, and dislikes while also having a few tricks up your culinary sleeve can help you ensure your child gets the nutrients they need.
Understanding Picky Eating
The following behavioral patterns and feeding habits characterize picky eating:
- Has strong preferences
- Eats a limited variety and number of different foods
- Refuses to try new foods
- Refuses “healthy” foods or the “right” amount of food
- Becomes unusually upset at mealtimes compared to their peers
- Requires a special meal
- Eats differently in different contexts
With prevalence ranging from 8% to 50% of children (declining with age), picky eating is a common and normal part of childhood development. For example, toddlers often experience stages of picky eating when their appetite decreases after growth spurts. Paired with an instinct to test their boundaries, they can become fussy eaters.
However, extreme or prolonged picky eating can be concerning, as it can indicate an underlying issue. Plus, children need a wide variety of nutrients to grow, develop, and thrive.
Strategies That Work for a Picky Eating Kid
Dealing with a picky eater can be challenging and often worrisome, especially when a parent has worked really hard to make a tasty, nutritious meal for the whole family. There are some strategies that parents can use to encourage healthy eating habits.
- Create and follow a consistent mealtime routine that provides stability and comfort.
- Follow a snacking schedule that ensures children come to mealtimes hungry.
- Model healthy eating with a social, family mealtime where you enjoy a variety of foods in front of your child.
- Concerning how long a child is expected to sit and eat at the table, establish age-appropriate, loving boundaries that consider your child’s developmental stage, temperament, and abilities.
- Help your child acclimate to new foods by introducing new foods one at a time, in small portions, along with something familiar.
- Let children participate in grocery shopping by picking out new fruits and vegetables at the store.
- Increase comfort with food by involving children in meal preparation. Assign them tasks like washing fruits and vegetables or stirring ingredients.
- Make food fun by arranging food into faces, giving food fun names (i.e., baby trees for broccoli), or using cookie cutters to make cute shapes.
- Create a sense of choice and autonomy by letting children choose between two or three healthy options.
- Support a healthy mindset around food by never using it as a reward or punishment. In other words, don’t offer or take away “treats” based on a child’s behavior.
Creative Meal Ideas for Picky Eaters
With a little creativity in the kitchen, parents can help ensure their kids get the nutrition they need, even if they are going through a phase of picky eating.
Talk to your child about the reasons why they don’t like or refuse to try certain foods so you can get a sense of whether they’re struggling with tastes, smells, colors, or textures. Then you can fine-tune your approach. Until you’re able to get your child to start trying and accepting a wide variety of foods, focus on making recipes that hide healthy foods within a child’s favorite meals.
For example, try sneaking veggies into burger patties or meatballs or baking them into muffins or pancakes. Increase your child’s protein intake by adding Greek yogurt or kid-friendly protein powder to smoothies or macaroni and cheese. Cut vegetables into fry shapes and make a variety of fun dips.
When to Worry About a Picky Eating Kid
If extreme or severe picky eating impacts a child’s health, growth, and ability to thrive, then the child might be suffering from pediatric feeding disorder (PFD), a problem that should be evaluated and addressed with professional help. Signs and symptoms of PFD include:
- Extreme selectivity based on taste, texture, or color
- Food refusal (crying, hitting, gagging, or vomiting)
- Limited appetite
- Low weight or failure to gain weight
- Delayed or dysfunctional eating skills
- Disruptive mealtime behavior
- Has a negative impact on family function
Children with PFD require medical intervention for a diagnosis and evaluation to help parents understand and address any underlying factors (such as food allergies, anatomical development, feeding skills, or psychosocial concerns) that could be causing the child’s extreme picky eating.
