My parents always made us take a "no thank you" helping, and we had to eat it. I ate so many things I would never have tried. We had to sit at the table until we finished. The only time we ever won was when my mom served mashed turnips. My brother and I looked at that stuff, looked at each other across the table, and refused to try it. The embarrassing/funny part is that that was my...senior year of high school. HA.
For my nieces, my mom tells them, "You must have something of everything on the table. Whatever you put on your plate, you have to eat." This has been working very well...except when my one niece took like an entire tablespoon of butter! HA.
My mom did something similar to @peachacid: . Although she never made us finish our food. That is a bad habitto learn. You eat until you are no longer full.
She did however make us try and swallow one bite of everything on the table. She would make sure there was one item we could eat for dinner, then we had to try everything else. Eventually we learned to like many things.
And when we were done if we were still hungry we were allowed to reheat dinner, not a dessert or anything else if she was not satisfied with the number if different foods we had eaten for dinner.
Another idea is to take them to the grocery store and ask them to pick out a vegetable they would like to try (or meat etc) and get them involved. If have ownership in the decisions they may be more likely to like it.
And have them help cook too! let them mix the meatballs with their hands. Measure the spices etc. Real young kids can do that. I teach a healthy cooking class for kids and getting them involved is a huge step to getting them to like it.
My parents never had success with me if I didn't want to eat it I didn't. Period. Grounding, spanking, taking things away, no dessert....nothing worked. So it's not always as easy as the first commenter stated.
DUKE is doing a study on picky eater. They' re trying to catogerize it as an eating disorder. http://www.dukehealth.org/services/eating_disorders/about/news/
Sorry. Keep trying.
@luvmesumhim: Well maybe you can provide some insight. What was it about the food that made it so unpalatable to you? Are you still a picky eater? I used to hate most food but I got over it in college, and now will try almost anything.
I raised my daughter and several nieces, with several being picky eaters. I was always very matter-of-fact when dealing with them and food. No threats, no bargining, no pleading, no enticements, no punishments. Our rule was that you had to TRY a "good bite" of whatever, chew and swallow it. After that, if the child did not like the food, they did not have to eat it. On the other paw, I totally refused to make any alternative food for them. If they did not eat the meal, then they did not get dessert or snacks. Eventually they get hungry enough to eat.
@peachacid: i am a picky eater myself... so i try not to be hard on the kids. but my bf tells me that him and his ex went by the book and only added foods when the book told them to. I just dont like the bartering and the constant chaos at the dinner table. when i put one of the kids in the corner they went home and told their mom that he was a bad boy and that we was being naughty... i never said any of those things to him. All i said was if you choose not to try/ finish your dinner you choose to go in the corner.....
@asher212: I'm a nanny and I've noticed that sometimes it's that they think they are missing out on something "more fun". So if you aren't already, make sure TV, iPads, etc. are off and that they know that no one gets to use them whether they decide to eat their food or not.
It certainly may be the actual food that they are picky about, but often the Fear Of Missing Out can play a role.
Good luck!
@peachacid: I'm much better now. As I child I ate more than you have listed but not much. My friends used to joke that I only ate bread, pizza and chicken. I'm much better now but still don't eat like a "normal" person.
for me most things were a texture issue. I still don't eat bananas for that reason. I don't like the mushy-ness in my mouth. It's not the flavor, I'm eating banana chips now. Some things were just being stubborn I guess. For instance I ate no veggies until my late 20s. Others were I didn't like the way it looked or smelled. Others were truly taste.
I think I changed while I was trying to lose weight and be healthier. I had to eat other foods for that to happen. So I started out really slow with very small quantities of veggies or whatever I didn't like until I could get used to it. It's still a mental thing. If I think about the fact I'm eating broccoli I freak out but if I just eat it I'm ok. I also need to put something else on my mouth at the same time. Basically I'm not goong to just eat a forkful of broccoli.
not sure if that helps.
OP @ @trueblue14: just FYI this wouldn't have worked for me. (The theres no alternativr route) My parents tried. I just wouldn't eat. I would half eat a lot of stuff though, like meatloaf, I'd sorta pick at it. Enough not to starve basically.
I do think the one bite approach is good. It won't traumatize them too much. But I won't make them eat a whole meal of the new thing.
I was an incredibly picky eater as a child, I'm still picky but a lot better about trying things. I am grateful my parents never forced me to "clean my plate" or eat things I hated. I was always encouraged to try things. I imagine its such a challenge now, but I think most picky eaters will eventually expand their palate, however slightly at first. Do the kids encourage each other? Maybe separating them would help? Maybe one will be more willing to try something the other wont. Just a thought.
Also, there is a book called Deceptively Delicious that has recipes for different things but they are made so you can hide veggies. (There may be a kid specific version) For example, using cauliflower purée in Mac and cheese. The kids won't taste it and at least if they won't try new things, you will be getting them more nutritious versions of what they *will* eat.
Good luck!
@asher212: My boys are picky too, well were picky. We made them have 1 bite of everything 'new' we served...they had to at least try it, and swallow it. Then they could decide if they wanted more or not. Also at age 4 we started letting them dish their own food, they had to eat what they put on their plate. And if they didn't eat it all, the plate went into the fridge, and if they got hungry again, they had to eat what was left on their plate before getting a treat...it worked. Within 3-4 months we have non-picky eaters...granted some things they just don't like.
@asher212: I was a picky eater as a kid (I wouldn't touch eggs to save my life). My parents' policy was, if you don't eat it for dinner, you can eat it for breakfast. Usually worked. If I had to eat veggies (peas, yuck), I would douse them in ketchup first.
I had read an article about how one mom experimented with getting her kid to eat something new. She prepared a bowl of broccoli, sat down at the table (her toddler was sitting in her own highchair), and smell the broccoli, comment how good it smelled, then take a bite, chew, talk about how yummy it was, etc. and did NOT offer any to her kid. After the mom had a few bites, her daughter got REALLY curious about what was so yummy, and asked for a bite. Pretty soon she was eating it too! So part of it may be the assumption that the food is gross.
Another method would be to insist that the kids take 2-3 bites of every kind of food on their plate. At the very least, they get food in their tummy, and while they may not fill up on it, it's still not a complete waste. Be firm in your resolve, and don't let them try to con you into making nothing but the unhealthy stuff. As they get older (10-12 for instance), you may want to tell them that if they don't want to eat *X*, they are welcome to make their own *Y* in the kitchen (pb & j sandwich or something).
Another thing that might convince them that eating good food won't kill them: Take them with you to volunteer at a shelter feeding the homeless, and use it as a lesson that some people don't always get the opportunity to eat a healthy meal, and rely on soup kitchens or have to dig through trash to be able to eat at all. Kind of extreme, but might work.
I was such a picky eater growing up and still am, but not as bad. My mom would put one item of something questionable on my plate and I usually 'snuck' it to the dog. Once, my parents made me stay at the table for hours over 1 little slice of yellow squash. They made me eat it and wash it down with milk. Then, I barfed. Ew. Now, I eat yellow squash, but... at the time it was so gross!! My mom cooked it to this weird slimy texture. I recently found out that my mom hid veggies in pasta sauces and other things. So sneaky! Some meals I could spot the veggies or mushrooms I didn't like and would dig them out or avoid them. When I was in middle school or high school, I would ask my mom what was in something.
@Peony007: I've heard of that. Using a food processor or chopper to puree veggies and add it to casseroles, sauces, etc. Sneaky yes, but effective! I had a former stepmother that would make some kind of bake that had veggies in it, and she would purposely dump an extra can of peas into it, to make sure I ate peas. Yuck! lol
@Sweet_Tea: Although my DH is a much more adventurous eater than me, I like more veggies than him. I've used my mom's trick on him. It works so well!!
OP: Chances are, the kids will slowly expand what they eat, but it will be in their time. Growing up I hated: peas, spinach, squash, mushrooms, avocado, cauliflower, bluberries, seafood, lamb... now I still stay away from all things from the sea (except for salt), lamb, and other unusal meats. I'm much more open to trying new veggies and fruit and love all of those veggies that I mentioned (prepared differently than my mom does) and blueberries. Some things I still hate. Like cucumbers. I HATE them, but I love pickles. Also, one day I decided to try a raw tomato and I loved it. Yum! Same with spinach salads, but cooked spinach makes me gag. It's so wierd.
@asher212: I had another thought.
I initially said that they only have to have one bite of everything that was made, and like many other PPS who said the samething, I still agree BUT
What I would also do is pay attention to how you are cooking them. It may be that they prefer one method of preperation over another. This is how I got my DH to eat a very wide range of food (he was picky when we first met, I eat everything)
Not to mention if they dislike something, say steamed broccoli, and you keep serving it the same exact way they will likely start to think "But she knows I dont like this!"
At first he hated cauliflower, then he decided he like it roasted with garlic and parm cheese, but never steamed. He would eat it mashed mixed with mashed sweet potatoes, but not mashed by themselves... Now after trying many different preperations and eating them for years he will eat them all ways. He developed a taste for them, although he still has his favorite preperations.
I am not really a fan of "hiding" veggies because they should learn to eat them willingly, but you can make them as appealing as possible. Maybe a light cheese sauce on them,
Also, I forget where I read this, but kids were more willing to eat anything (not just veggies) if they could dip it. Dipping is fun. Maybe you serve them raw baby carrots and give them two choices of dressing to dip them in.
Also, I did mention above that getting them involved helps. It really does. I did this, again, with DH. I gave him a vegetable cookbook and told him to pick out a recipe, then I made it. I still do this.
P.S. Roasting many vegetables bring out the natural sugars in veggies and your kids may find them more palatable than other preperations, esepecially paired with a sprinkling of cheese. I roasted turnips for the first time and they were amazingly good! (and even I dont care for them raw)
These kids don't sound like picky eaters to me, it sounds like they are used to be fed processed junk. They probably have issues in recognizing fresh food.
My advice to feed them healthier versions of the processed food they eat. So if they like Mac and Cheese make Pasta and with some fresh cheese, make homemade pizze and sneak some veggies into the sauce or have them help you chop it up and serve it on the pizza. I think try to make eating fun and slowly integrate things into their diet. Maybe take them to farm or plant a garden if you can to encourage the to eat better.
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Okay... boyfriend has 2 boys ages 4 and 6. They are the pickiest eaters in all the whole entire world. They will only eat pancakes, pizza,chicken nuggets, and hot dogs. Even then if the food we provide show any signs of anything not normal to them they say its yucky, they will hew it until its mush and throw it up on their plate, and cry. They will try to make a deal with you as well. for example... if i take 1 bite i can i be done. (when there is 10 bites left) Even after we tell them they need to finish their dinner they still try to barter. They tell us they forget how to swallow and like i said previously they will throw it up on the plate. We give them the salad plates so its not like we are piling on the food on big dinner plates. How can we get them to try new food and to finish most of whats on their plate?? It is a constant battle that I feel as adults we are losing.