How Do I Prevent Picky Eating From Developing?
Do start these tips early with your toddler so that they can have time to build a positive relationship and openness around food.
Samantha’s quick tip: toddlers learn by example, so modelling eating healthy foods, proper table manners, and an openness to try new foods will transfer to your child. Your child wants to be more like you; this means doing, eating, and saying the same things as you: model, model, and model good habits and words to your child.
1. Always Offer Good Food Choices
Making and offering healthy food choices at each meal is very important for your toddler to see. Toddlers are at the age where they observe, listen, and copy things they see and hear from their parents say. Try to eat similar foods during meal times and sit down and eat with your child. By doing these two things, opportunities to introduce, test out, and talk about foods can help your child develop a healthier view of eating. Use this time to model good table manners, proper handwashing, and eating correctly; also, let your toddler know that it is ok if they don't like the food after trying it.
When encouraging your toddler to try new foods
For older toddlers, ask, “how do you know you don’t like it? Try it first and then decide”.
For younger toddlers, say, “have a taste with me, and let’s see.” “How is it”?.
2. Have A Eating And Waiting Plan
Creating a comfortable and practical eating routine that meets your toddler's needs can help make meals and pre-meal times more enjoyable for them. For example, have a small container of toys close by when meal prep takes longer than you expected. Your child can play with these toys while waiting in their high chairs.
Some toy ideas to place in the container:
2-3 random puzzle pieces.
Safe items that can shake.
Chunky little books.
Big rubber blocks.
Texture or small sensory mats.
Safe toys that can be mouthed.
Small pop-up toys.
Some pre-meal longer waiting activities
A pack of big sticky notes.
Toys that have strings or ribbons to pull on.
Toys that have objects to slide, spin, pull and move.
A small damp cloth for cleaning hands.
A tip: Have the television turned off while your child is eating so that they can focus on chewing and swallowing.
3. Pre-think About Meal Ideas
Pre-think about healthy meals to cut down the waiting time for your toddler. Adding familiar tastes, ingredients, colours, and textures to new foods might help your child be more open to trying them. For example, if your child loves spaghetti, try other forms of pasta.
When your toddler wants the same meal every day
If your toddler wants to eat the same food every day, still encourage new foods by serving them a scoop of new food and a bigger spoon of the food they like. Don’t pressure your child to eat all the new food; if they taste it, praise them slightly and move on. For example, “see, now you know that mash potatoes can be soft.”
If your child gets upset about having new food on their plate, say, “I only put a little; let’s try it together.”
You can also explain to older toddlers why eating different foods are essential for growth. For example, “eating different foods can help build your leg bones to run fast.”
Use the internet for new food ideas; there are several mommy blogs and food ideas and tricks to help your little ones. Making an online visual food calendar could be a great way to help keep track of daily meal ideas.
4. Have Food Talks
Conversations about food are essential; this can help your child understand what they are eating, learn new words, and hear how nutrition can help their bodies. In addition, toddlers enjoy knowing more about things that affect, support, and benefit them due to their egocentric mentality. When talking about foods and eating, be calm, encourage your child to share, sing food songs, do puppet shows, and read books about eating.
A tip: When introducing new foods that your child does not like, wait for two weeks to pass before re-giving them to your child. When re-giving new foods, try making them look a bit different. For example, changing the colour or adding a new spice to it.
5. Give Your Child Time To Eat
Wait at least 1-3 mins before concluding that your child might not like a particular food due to them not eating it. Toddlers are not born picky eaters, so parents should expose them to different foods from a young age to taste, give them space to eat, time to play with their food, and analyze textures.
Did you know that a child’s environment and parental styles significantly affect what kind of eater your child becomes?
6. Trust, Listen And Respect Your Child
Your toddler knows when they feel full or hungry; listen to them when they communicate this to you. That said, encouraging your child to try new foods if they have not eaten anything is still a good idea.
A tip: Incorporating meals your child likes from daycare or a day program is an excellent way to introduce new foods and meals.
7. Limit Dessert Choices
Parents should limit the number of snacks and desserts given before and after meals and encourage more eating of main meals. Consistently providing and reminding your toddler that only one serving of desserts is comming can encourage them to eat more of their dinner. Over time most children will learn that just relying on dessert or snacks to fill them up is not the best opinion, and they will start eating more of their meals.
If your child is still hungry after one serving of dessert
Re-offer them their dinner if they did not eat most of it.
Give them an extra cup of water or milk.
Sometimes it is ok to offer more fruit.
8. Be Adventurous With Meals
Take the opportunity to add new ingredients, seeds, textures, and tastes when cooking meals, and be adventurous. Always give your toddler a small sample of a new food along with foods they know and like. Adding various colours is a great way for food to look more visual, exciting, and yummier to your child.
A tip: To provoke more independence, provide toddler foods that are safe to chew, easy to pick up, promote self-help eating, medium temperature, and have pleasing textures.
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