Picky Eater?
We all know one. I’m married to one. Our fear as parents is that we are raising one. I’m talking about the picky eater. My husband even has specific instructions for the person in the drive-thru when he’s ordering. He won’t eat cheese, yet he loves pizza. He eats his sandwiches dry, without any mustard or mayo. His idea of a gourmet meal is steak and shrimp on the barbecue or chili dogs! We’ll actually go to a sit down restaurant and he still orders chicken strips and fries – no matter where we go. It’s either a steak or the chicken strips! I often joke that it’s easier to feed our kids than to feed him.
As a parent, he even recognizes that we don’t want our children turning out like him. He says he’s this way because he wasn’t exposed to a lot of variety as a child. I would have to say I agree with his thinking. We are constantly giving our kids new things to try and having them try things more than once. It took our daughter close to a year to like salad, and now she loves it. We even make daddy try new things too! We have tried to hide as much as possible his pickiness, so they aren’t learning from him.
As your children grow from baby to toddler and move on to new, more advanced tastes and textures, they may get stuck on eating a certain food. Not to worry, this is what is called a “food jag” and it’s a natural part of growing up. They simply cling to something they like and that’s all they want. These are usually small phases and pass quickly. If you are concerned that it’s going on too long consult with your doctor about it. You don’t want it to be too much of a habit. I did meet someone a long time ago that only ate breakfast foods and peanut butter sandwiches. Literally, that is all he ate for three meals a day. It was an awful thing to live with, but he couldn’t change his mindset.
To help divert away from pickiness and wanting only the same foods try offering new foods along with familiar favorites so your toddler can choose. Serve a variety of foods and be an example by eating them yourself. Remember never force your child to eat. They need to feel they can decide when they want to eat and how much.
They best thing you can do for your child is simply to be aware of their eating habits and try to teach them the healthiest habits possible. Your best bet starts with your example. Don’t stress too much about little things they don’t like. If you are truly concerned about any aspect of their eating styles, simply discuss it with your doctor.
