Do you have a picky eater at home? If your child is a picky eater, you know how frustrating it can be preparing the same meal for the millionth time in a row. It can be extremely difficult to get your picky eater to try new foods, which can result in more frustration for you. Although there’s nothing wrong with having a favorite dish, it’s important that your child learns to try different foods. Who know, they might even like one of those foods!
Don’t Force Foods
When trying to get your picky eater to try new foods, don’t force the issue. There will be times that your child absolutely refuses to put that bite in their mouth. Always encourage your child to try, but if it’s not going to happen, don’t force it. This can make new foods seem like a punishment, which can cause your child to become even more selective in food preferences.
Give Them Choices
If you want your child to try something new, give them a choice. Prepare two new dishes and ask your picky eater which one they would prefer to try. By doing this, you’re allowing your picky eater to evaluate the two new foods and decide which one to try based on personal preference. This can also help reduce the number of stubborn moments your child might have when refusing to eat a food.
Know Your Child’s Preferences
Use your child’s likes and dislikes to help decide which new foods to prepare. If your child absolutely hates fish, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to prepare fish tacos. On the other hand, if your child loves corn, you might want to consider preparing corn chowder some other new food that has corn as the main ingredient.
Make It a Game
The more fun your child is having, the more likely they’ll want to try new foods. You can make trying new foods into a game by having a regular mystery night. Use this night to make everyone in the entire family try a new food. Your child will feel more comfortable if this is a new experience for everyone.
Use Incentives
Incentives are a great way to get your child excited about trying new foods! Have a system in place so that each time your child experiments with foods, they get a reward. This could be something as simple as earning a favorite drink or five minutes of extra play time.
It can be hard trying to get your picky eater to try something new, but it is possible! By making it fun and interesting, you’re giving your child opportunities to explore and find new favorite foods.
What other ways have you utilized to try to get your little one to try new foods?
