My Kid Is A Picky Eater - Mom Survival Tips

Picky Eating Kid My son is a picky eater. He got it honest, I’m also a picky eater. I was hoping he didn’t inherit my discriminating taste buds, but he did. Over the years, I’ve learned survival tips for dealing with a picky eater.

Picky eaters might be willing to try new food with familiar food.

My number one rule for introducing new food to my picky eater is: always do it with familiar food. Many times, I make my son his familiar food and I make myself a new item he hasn’t tried. Typically, he wanders over and wants to try what I’m eating, as long as he likes the look and smell. All food has to pass the picky eater smell test or it’s a no go. 😉 If he likes it, then it’s a win and I can add that item to our weekly menu.

Some kids refuse to eat or drink anything green.

green juice My son started out as a pretty good eater. He ate most of my homemade mush, as long as it wasn’t green. My kid had a weird aversion to green foods and drinks. I’m not sure if this is universal among kids. After age two he was willing to eat spinach and broccoli. His father also got him eating the Indian dish “Palak Paneer” (I’m still wondering how that happened). Now at age five he enjoys eating salads, typically with pears and shredded cheddar cheese. But he won’t drink anything green.

Picky eaters typically like fruit.

My son’s favorite food by far is fruit. From early on he’s always enjoyed fruit. Some say it’s because he was a breastfed baby, I’m not sure if that’s true. He even loved to eat fresh blueberries by the handful as a toddler. Now a lot of times if he’s still hungry after dinner, I offer him fruit. Typically when he’s going through a growth spurt he’s hungry nonstop, so fruit is a healthy choice. Especially when he’s requesting ice cream. Everything in moderation.

Picky eaters may find meat tasty with sauce.

My son will eat meat if he can dip it in sauce. If there’s no sauce he won’t eat it. Typically, I grill chicken wings and steak. I will the cut the meat up and put sauce on the side. Before when I tried to introduce meat without sauce he wouldn’t eat it. So sauce has been a lifesaver. He now also eats shrimp and salmon with sauce.

Is your picky eater doomed if you’re a bad cook?

I’m not a bad cook but I’m not great either. I lack creativity in the kitchen. I need recipes and directions to be successful in the kitchen. I rely heavily on food apps and YouTube for ideas on what to cook. I think most of my food tastes good when I do cook. But I don’t love cooking.

I admit my son is probably dreadfully bored with my cooking. It’s the same stuff every week with an occasional menu addition. New menu additions are typically things I haven’t ate in awhile and have a taste for that I cook for myself. Many times these items become his new menu items if he likes them.

My advice is don’t beat yourself up if you’re not the best cook. Stick with the few items you can cook. When in doubt get take out. If you’re a busy mom like me, you can only stretch yourself so far, so do what you can.

So you might be thinking I go way out of my way to accommodate my kid’s tastes buds. The truth is I probably do. When I was a kid, I fell asleep at the dinner table many times because I refused to eat. I was stubborn and wouldn’t eat anything that I thought tasted bad or looked bad. I was willing to starve. Sometimes my parents conceded and made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but not always. I don’t want that for my kid.

I think eating is important to a child’s growth and development. So whatever I can do as a parent to make eating an enjoyable experience for my child I’m willing to do it, within reason of course. Sometimes that means my son eats a lot of the same things. He’s eaten the same thing for dinner two or three days in a row (this was in the throws of the terrible twos and threes). But he was eating and that’s what counts.

So the key things to remember when working with a picky eater are:

Give them the food they enjoy if it’s healthy.
Introduce new food with familiar foods.
Try sauce to make the food more appealing.
Fruit is a good snack and after dinner dessert.
Repeat the same meal if necessary.

I hope you were able to get some new tips on how to deal with a picky eater. Please share your experiences and strategies for success with a picky eater in the comments below.

ice cream