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3.04.2024

Healthy Tips for Picky Eaters

How to Explore New Food with Preschoolers

Do any of the statements below remind you of your mealtime with kids?

• "How many peas do I need to eat?"
• "Ew. I don't want to try that."
• "Is there anything else to eat?"

Because you want your child to grow healthy and strong, your child’s picky eating can be cause for concern. Studies show that most children do not eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, and picky eaters tend to shy away from vegetables, so that concern is understandable.

Fortunately for most parents, children's picky eating is temporary. If you don’t make it a big deal, it will usually end before they reach school age. Try the tips below to help deal with your child’s picky eating behavior in a positive way. Check the ones that work for you and your child.

Get Creative

• Add fruits and veggies to foods they already like.
• Mix blueberries and oats into pancakes.
• Add sliced fruit to your child's favorite cereal.
• Serve shredded veggies over rice or whole wheat pasta.
• Make smoothies with fresh or frozen strawberries, a banana, and low-fat yogurt.

Stock Up on Healthy Choices

• Buy healthy fruits, veggies, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products.
• Keep healthy foods where they're easy for your kids to see.

Limit "Junk Food" in Your Home

Limit the number of foods high in fat and added sugar that you bring into your home.

Try New Foods

Forcing your child to eat certain foods will only cause stress for you and your child. Serve a few fruits and veggies at mealtimes. Offer choices.

• For example, say "Would you like broccoli or cauliflower for dinner?"
• Let your kids try small portions of new foods that you enjoy. Give them a small taste at first and be patient with them. When they develop a taste for more types of foods, it's easier to plan family meals.
• Give options for snacks, suggesting snap peas, sliced bell peppers, cucumbers, kiwi, or blueberries.
• Offer only one new food at a time. Serve something that you know your child likes along with the new food. Offering more new foods all at once could be too much for your child.
• Offer new foods many times. Sometimes, new foods take time. Kids don't always take to new foods right away. It may take several tries for a child to accept a new food.
• Serve the same foods for the whole family. Avoid being a "short-order cook," making a different meal for your child.

Lead by Example

As a parent, you are your child’s most important role model, especially when it comes to making healthy choices. They learn by watching you!

Make Healthy Food Fun to Eat

• Cut baked chicken, low-fat cheese, and veggies into bite-size pieces. Let kids dip these pieces into dunking sauces. Try hummus, low-fat ranch dressing, salsa, ketchup, or mustard.
• Cut food into fun and easy shapes with cookie cutters.
• Give your kids the ingredients to build their own healthy salad, taco, or pizza. Name the food after your child,  such as "Susan's Specialty Salad."

Let Kids Help with Meals and Snacks

Have your kids prepare meals and snacks with you. Children are more likely to eat food that they help make. Let them help:

• Make the shopping list.
• Pick out food at the grocery store.
• Wash the produce.
• Slice, mix, bake, or cook food (as age appropriate)

Learn More

To learn more about nutrition and physical activities resources for children, visit the Healthy Kids Resource Center. The Healthy Kids Resource Center is a one-stop-shop for evidence-based research, resources, curricula, activities and materials that focus on obesity prevention for teachers and parents of young children. It is designed to educate parents and teachers as well as provide the tools needed to teach young children how to live a healthy lifestyle. Toolboxes are provided on topics of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Body Image. Within these sections you will find educational fact sheets on relevant topics such as energy balance, cardiovascular health, eating healthy, reducing sedentary behavior, physical literacy and living healthy at any shape or size. Teachers and parents are provided with their own sections full of easy-to-use resources such as activities, games, lessons, videos, music and dances which are free to use at home or in the classroom. In conjunction with various community partners, you will find a calendar of upcoming community health events geared towards young children, legislation and best practices, statewide programming efforts and contact information for organizations invested in keeping our children healthy. We hope this is a valuable resource for promoting and creating opportunities to establish healthy eating and physical activity habits at an early age.

CREDITS

This article was created for the Healthy Kids Resource Center, extension.unredu/healthykids, and funded in part by USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. UNR Extension FS-21-102. Available online at https://extension.unr.edu/healthykids/pub.aspx?PubID=2901. 

References

• USDA. (2018, March 1). Healthy Tips for Picky Eaters. Retrieved from www.choosemyplate.gov
• NHLBI. We Can! Parent Tips: Picky Eaters. Retrieved from www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

We Can! Parent Tips: Picky Eaters. Retrieved July 25, 2019