Back to Cooking

Busy Cooking
Cooking with Kids

They Won't Starve, I Promise:
Ideas for getting picky kids to eat!
By Crissy Fleetwood

It's amazing how children can live on peanut butter and jelly and hot dogs for three solid months without getting bored, only to suddenly refuse to even be in its presence.

In my four years of parenting a seriously picky eater, I've come across a few tricks of the trade:

Don't push it. Trying to force a child to eat is a lost cause. You can put children in time-out, send them to bed or even force the food into their tiny mouths, but you can't make them swallow it. Gentle persuasion and the occasional bribe work much better. Remember the saying, "You'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."

Get sneaky. Blend cooked and pureed veggies into sauces. Grate carrots or zucchini into macaroni and cheese or homemade breads. Make a smoothie from various fruits and call it ice cream. Oftentimes, they won't even know what they're eating.

Enlist their help. Most children love to don an apron and chef's hat and help Mommy in the kitchen. Make a big deal of your little ones cooking dinner with you. Ask them to tear lettuce for a salad, stir muffin batter or roll out pizza dough. I have found this to be a huge motivation in trying new foods. Something they help create is much more special than something simply plopped in front of them.

Reverse psychology. When an adult's emotions are at stake, a child will usually opt to push our buttons; the key is making them think it isn't working. When your child refuses to eat what's on his plate, take it from him and start eating the food yourself. Watch his reaction. I've done this many times and it often elicits a resounding, "Hey, that's my food."

Tough love. We have a rule in our house: If you don't eat at least some of your dinner, you don't get anything else until the next scheduled mealtime. Basically, this translates to: He'll eat when he's hungry. I know it is hard but it really does work. After a few nights of no special meals and no snacks before bed, they'll get the message.

One at a time. To most children, a full plate of food is intimidating, even if there is a small amount of each item. Make sure that your child is truly hungry and then give a small portion of the new food. The rule is that he must eat at least one bite in order to try the next food. Alternate between foods that are new and ones that are familiar.

Get creative. Make a mashed potato mountain with broccoli trees. Use a cookie cutter to make darling little airplane or racecar-shaped hamburgers. You don't have to be an artist. In fact, kids often prefer the unrealistic.

And, finally, if all else fails, remember the Mommy mantra: "This too shall pass." I promise he won't go to college eating only chicken nuggets and Cheerios.

Crissy Fleetwood is a stay-at-home mother and budding freelance writer. She resides in Newark Delaware with her husband, Dale, and their 4-year old son, Quentin.