You spend the whole morning making a meal, but when you finally put it in front of your child, the response is ‘Nope.’ If your child has been refusing to eat, don’t panic! You are not alone. It’s also normal to feel annoyed. With a bit of luck, mealtime does not have to be a place of conflict. You can make eating fun and less stressful for children and yourself with the help of a few tricks up your sleeve.
I want to talk about how to get your child to eat again!
Why Won’t My Child Eat?
First, it’s helpful to know why kids won’t eat, and it generally has little to do with the food. Here’s what usually happens:
Power Issues: Your child could be testing power by refusing to eat, saying, ‘I’m in charge here!’
Throughout the month, adults frequently fell into ‘not hungry’ as well: • Toddlers, in particular, slow down as they grow and may indeed simply not be hungry when you think they are.
Taste Sensitivity: Some kids are picky about certain flavors or textures.
Diversions: Other screens, toys or, indeed, anything more fun than eating can undermine appetite.
Same Old Food: Eating the same things can get boring for kids, too!
Let’s take a minute to remind ourselves what might be going on here before figuring out some fun, easy ways to help your kid eat better.
Turn Mealtime into Playtime
Kids like fun so why not bring some to the table. Turn dinner into a game. The broccoli on his plate is a tiny tree but he’s a dinosaur and stuffing his face with the grass. There are even more fun mealtime games for your culinary imagination. Perhaps his peas are superhero power balls? The more fun you make it, the more likely your child will want to play along – and eat.
Create a Colorful Plate
Everybody loves a rainbow, right? Kids certainly do, so try to make children’s food as colorful as possible – orange carrots, green cucumbers, red bell peppers, purple cabbage… name the color, there’s a food that likely comes in that shade. You might even ask them which color they want to try first! Fun to look at might act as a hook for them to actually try tasting it.
Start with Small Portions
A big plate of food looks daunting to a little kid: start small, and it’s less intimidating, and kids like feeling like they’ve ‘finished’ something. Your kids might surprise you and ask for MORE … just because it doesn’t look like there’s much there!
Let Them Help in the Kitchen
Kids are more likely to eat something they helped make. Allow your child to stir, sprinkle or choose a veggie from the fridge. Giving them a chance to play a part in the process makes them feel proud of what they’ve made, and they’ll feel excited about eating it. It’s an easy way to spend some quality, quiet time together, too.
Stick to a Routine
Routine can be hugely supportive to kids, so consider having snacks and meals at the same times each day to make them feel safe. This isn’t always going to look like you might have thought it should, so try not to worry if your child doesn’t seem hungry at a certain time. Instead, be as predictable and flexible as you can – a schedule will help them to understand when it’s likely they’ll get food and when it’s likely they can play.
Offer Choices (But Not Too Many)
Children adore decision-making, so offer them options – as long as they aren’t too overwhelming. A simpler way to ask ‘What do you want for lunch?’ (to which the answer is always ‘Something not on my plate’) is ‘Would you prefer carrots or cucumber today?’ Together you’re making the best choices.
Don’t Force It—Patience Wins
It’s a hard thing to deal with when your child refuses to eat something you’ve prepared, but forcing them to eat will only make it worse. If they don’t want some food you put in front of them, pick up the plate and nothing more. Keep things as relaxed as possible, and make them feel comfortable by telling them ‘That’s fine, you might like it next time’. To be patient is a virtue, and it’s always better if both you and your child remain calm during a meal.
Make eating times a happy event. Try to eat together as a family, and use each meal as an opportunity to discuss your children’s day, tell stories or just be together. Turn off the TV, put the toys away and connect. If children see that eating is always about having fun, being happy and with people they like, they’re more likely to enjoy eating.
Keep Offering New Foods
The verbatim advice is this: Don’t give up. Studies indicate that it can take 10-15 tries for a child to accept a new food, so if she doesn’t like something the first time, try, try again. Offer it another day, perhaps even in a different way. She might like steamed broccoli but hate it when pureed. Or roasted. Or perhaps she’ll dig it when mixed into pasta.
Final Decision: Take It Easy
For now, at the end of the day, try not to stress. Your kid will be fine if you aren’t tearing your hair out. Just make sure that they’re moving, growing, healthy and, most importantly, filled with love. If you are worried that they aren’t getting enough to grow, visit a pediatrician to make sure they’re on track.
However you do it, just remember that picky eating is a stage that virtually every kid goes through. If you can keep mealtimes fun, positive and pressure-free, you will eventually end up with a kid who enjoys eating.
So, take a deep breath, keep it light, and remember, you can do this! By exercising ingenuity and patience, your picky eater will be back to sirving with ease – and you just might be introduced to a whole new world of taste.