Posted Dec 10, 2011
As a child, Alvina Heath used to love eating fresh cucumbers from her family’s small garden.
Julyan, her 2-year-old son, however, wants nothing to do with cucumbers — or most other vegetables, many fruits, and other items.
Like many young children, Julyan is finicky when it comes to his diet, both in what he eats and how he ingests it. At this point, he permits only a select number of foods past his tiny teeth. The ever popular chicken nuggets are on his list, and he takes those by alternating nuggets after every bite.
Heath, a full-time college student, said her son enjoyed a wide variety of foods a an infant. Then, when he was around 18 months old, Heath noticed that Julyan was more choosy — he’d pluck only certain elements out of cereals, such as the marshmallows from Lucky Charms. Eventually this behavior grew and stressed Heath. It could be frustrating when Julyan would refuse meals. Like many parents facing similar circumstances, Heath worried about his nourishment and overall health.
A visit to Julyan’s pediatrician helped ease her concerns. Heath said the doctor provided useful tips that have broadened Julyan’s diet — by some small measure, anyway — while reducing her stress about the situation.
“It hasn’t been easy,” she said. “It has been difficult. It still is.”
Heath seems to have come to the realization that changing her son’s diet is a process; Julyan’s food fussiness is likely a phase. She arrived
at this point because she has seen results from some of doctor’s suggestions.
The one piece of advice at the top of Heath’s mind: Don’t be a short-order cook.
Instead of trying to please the mercurial tastes of a toddler, she makes Julyan’s food and waits.
Said Heath: “If I sit everything out, he’ll eventually come around to it and eat it.”
Laura Rosales, a longtime dietitian who is licensed in New Mexico and Texas, said bit of freedom granted to the child can be critical.
“You want to avoid power struggle where you force them to eat it and they say, ‘No!'” Rosales said.
Rosales and Dr. Danielle Nixon said small children are often persnickety about food because of the way they are wired.
It’s “instinctive” behavior, Rosales said, something that helps children discern what the should and shouldn’t eat.
It’s also a child’s exercise in newly discovered independence.
“At this age the toddler is more aware of being a separate entity from his parents,” wrote Dr. Nixon in an email to Healthy U. “Giving his input about what he wants to eat, is his way of exercising control and showing that he is his own person.”
Nixon, a physician with Full Bloom Pediatrics, added that being offered so many new tastes and textures “might be overwhelming.” She also pointed to some studies showing that picky eating can be inherited.
Rosales’s two children didn’t have that problem. Her 7-year-old son recently sampled quail eggs. Both her children not only enjoy Italian and Mexican cuisine, which are popular among many small children, but also Vietnamese food.
She said the key is offering new foods constantly and without pressure.
“The friendlier it is the better,” Rosales said. ” … By the time they get to be a good age they’ve learned to try new foods and they don’t fear it.” Nixon emphasized patience.
“It can take as many as eight or 10 tries!” Nixon wrote.
Complementary to this tactic of quiet persistence is setting a proper example. Children usually pattern their eating habits after those of their parents.
Said Rosales: “If mom’s not eating fruit, how do we expect the kids to?”
Even talking about foods that you don’t like in front of your children can be detrimental to their willingness to try new fare.
There are other common parenting tricks that can do more harm than good when it comes to increasing the variety of foods your child eats.
Wrote Nixon: “Some parents offer dessert as a reward for eating, but that sends the wrong message, that dessert is better than the main meal. … Also parents think it’s OK for the child to drink milk and juice as a substitute for the meal they won’t eat. This only perpetuates the problem since the child becomes full of milk or empty calories from sugary drinks, and refuses to eat anything solid.”
Being so particular about food isn’t always based on whims. Sometimes children have allergies that make eating certain foods uncomfortable.
Swallowing can be challenging for various reasons.
“There’s a difference between picky eaters and problem feeders,” Rosales said.
Allergies can make sufferers averse to similar foods. As Rosales said, if a kid is allergic to strawberries, he might avoid eating anything that’s red because of the association.
If you have concerns about allergies or feeding problems, consult your child’s pediatrician.
Nixon said most picky eating behavior exhibited by children isn’t cause for parental alarm.
“Even if a child is a picky eater, chances are he will still get enough calories from what he does eat to have normal growth,” she wrote. “Parents should be concerned if they realize their child will eat barely anything in a 24-hour period, and/or there is poor growth.”
Even if there are no signs of a physical problem, the mere thought of a child being hungry is unsettling for most parents.
Wrote Nixon: “Most hungry children will eventually eat what is offered.”
Even Julyan.
Heath said she experiments with different cooking methods. She discovered her son likes steamed carrots.
Julyan also enjoys applesauce, as evidenced by his constant repeating of the word when asked what he likes.
She’s still trying to figure out a way to get him to eat cucumbers.
James Staley can be reached at (575) 541-5476
Five tips to handle picky eaters
Know your opponent: When it comes to eating, young kids can be capricious. One day they will love a certain entree, the next they will despise it. Some days they may not eat much, other days they gorge. That’s how they are. Don’t bribe or force the child to eat.
Stay calm: This tip has two parts. First, eliminate distractions around the child and have them sit with their feet on the ground so they are less tempted to bolt. Second, relax and realize that some of this mercurial eating behavior is a only a temporary stage.
You’re not a short order cook: Regularly making a separate meal for a child who has rejected what others are eating can reinforce picky eating habits.
Get help: Children may be more likely to eat certain foods if they have played a role in getting those foods to the table. If you have a garden, let the child help grow the food. If not, let them help you select it at the store. Determining the menu and — if they’re old enough — helping to prepare it can also be beneficial.
Put it in reach: Dedicating a low space in the refrigerator to a child’s favorite healthy snacks can be appealing to them because it allows them have some sense of control.
— Sources: Ask Dr. Sears and Mayo Clinic
The art of disguise
A recent study suggested that kids don’t steamed broccoli and cauliflower blended into spaghetti sauce.
But that’s just one way to trick finicky children into eating more of the nutritious and often despised vegetables.
Eventually kids should learn to eat vegetables on their own, but until that happens, here are some other ways to sneak veggies into the dishes of more stubborn kids.
Hide vegetables in ground meats and casseroles
Experiment with shakes and smoothies
Bury healthy foods in muffins
Cover them with cheese or other toppings
Put them on pizza
— Sources: WebMD and FoodNetwork.com
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