Our Top Tips to Prevent Picky Eating Might Surprise You

There is so much information out there - some of it GREAT, most of it overwhelming and, if not flat out harmful, totally wrong. Wading through the countless books, blogs, and posts is NOT is a surefire recipe for more confusion and frankly, can sometimes make things worse.

So what do we tell all of our patients and parent coaching clients who want to prevent picky eating or minimize its effects?

Prioritize Family Meals

Children build trust and familiarity with foods when they see others around them interacting with foods and enjoying them. Often times, if you eat at separate times as your children, they are missing out on seeing you enjoy those same foods you wish they would eat! When everyone shares an enjoyable eating experience together, it creates positive food experiences for your child. Eating with your child(ren) is especially important for early eaters, who are also observing the movements of your mouth and the eating process as a whole!

 Have a set meal and snack schedule

What happens when your lunch break is at 11:30 every day, and 11:15 rolls around? You may start feeling hungry in anticipation. This isn't a coincidence! When we have set meal and snack times, it allows our body to attune to that schedule and begin releasing hormones to signal hunger around the time of the upcoming meal. We want our kids to come to meals and snacks hungry! Plus, when you have set times, this can reduce your child grazing too much and not being hungry for meals. When you have known eating times as part of your day, it can be easier to limit eating outside of those times.

Child eating a meal

 Limit pressure at the table

In order to foster a long term healthy relationship with food for your child(ren), there are some known concepts to be familiar with. The Satter Division of Responsibility in Feeding outlines the role of both the caregiver and the child in the feeding dyad; the parents' responsibility in is the what, when, and where of feeding (what you serve, when, and where), whereas the child's responsibility is whether and how much they eat from what you provide. Innocent, well meaning phrases such as "take a bite" or "just try it" and approaches that encourage a child to eat a certain food/certain amount often backfire. Limiting pressure at the table is HARD, but it's best practice.

Are you struggling with a picky eater in your home? Have you tried all the basic tips, and are at a loss of what to do next? With our extensive experience as feeding therapists, we're able to develop a plan specifically tailored to your child and help you feel confident in a direction that works. We want you to feel good about your child's eating- reach out here to schedule a free picky eating consult.

Ripple Child Development