toddler that is a picky eater

Picky Eater Test: Does Your Little One Qualify?

Written by: Happy Wolf

|

|

Time to read 5 min

Almost every parent has felt mealtime frustrations at some point. You spend time making a healthy meal for your kids and they flat out refuse to eat it. Or maybe you made their favorite food and they say they don’t like it anymore. It’s exhausting!


Take our Picky Eater Test to find out if you have a bonafide picky eater and learn about ways you can help your little one become more adventurous at mealtimes.


Take our Picky Eater Test


  1. Does your child refuse to try new foods, even if they are made with familiar ingredients?

  2. Does your child gag, spit out or refuse foods that have a mushy, saucy, or a chewy texture (like meats)?

  3. Is your child fearful of trying certain colored foods such as red, green or brown? Or does your child only prefer foods of a certain color, such as beige or orange?

  4. Will your child still refuse to eat a food that their peers are happily eating in front of them?

  5. If you change up their eating schedule, is your child less likely to eat the food you offer them?


The Results

If you answered mostly YES to these questions, you may have a picky eater on your hands. Fear not, you are not alone! Many parents feel like their child(ren) are picky eaters.


Young children often go through stages of disliking foods they used to like or new foods that are being offered to them. As well, children’s appetites can be affected by growth spurts, how much activity they have had that day, or even based on their mood!


Although it can be frustrating, there are a number of ways you can support your picky eater to become more adventurous at mealtimes.



How to Help your Picky Eater

Here are some of the top tips for helping you navigate mealtimes with your picky eater.


Division of Labor

As a parent, it is our responsibility to decide what food is being served, as well as when and where it is being offered each day. It is our children’s responsibility to decide if they are going to eat and how much they will eat.


It can be hard, but we need to trust that our child knows when they are hungry and full. Rest assured that your toddler will not starve themselves, even if they don’t have their favorite foods in front of them.


Include in Meal Planning and Prep

Ask your little ones to make suggestions for snack foods and meal ideas each week. Not only does this help them feel empowered and included, but it also creates opportunities for us to talk to them about making good snacking choices and balancing meals.


Take it one step further and invite your kids to help prepare snacks and meals. It may be messy and slow down the process at first, but learning age-appropriate kitchen skills will set them up for successful relationships with food in the future.


Be Patient 

Easier said than done! You may need to offer certain foods to your toddler 20 times or more before they will try it.


When you begin introducing a new food, try serving it family style so it is on the table, but not directly on their plate. Talk about the food and offer it, but don’t pressure your child to try it. It may take a while, but the more they see the food, the more comfortable they may become to try out the food.


Serve with “Safe” Foods

Always have at least one food on offer that you know your child will eat, aka their “safe” food.


Encourage, but Don’t Pressure

Pressure in the form of bribing, disciplining, or urging can often backfire. Positively encourage your child to try things, but let it drop if they show discomfort or resistance. Continuing to push a food on your child when they don’t feel ready, may cause them to resist for longer or altogether.


Keep it Positive

Whenever possible, have meals together as a family. Talk about your day and be positive and encouraging about the food on the table. This creates a happy mealtime environment that will promote positive experiences around food.


Reduce Distractions

Try to avoid distractions such as toys, cellphones, TV, and other electronic devices during mealtimes. This should be a time for eating and spending time with your family. While it may seem that your child eats better when they are distracted by a show, it can interfere with their ability to listen to their hunger and satiety (fullness) cues.

toddler distracted at meal by technology


Manage your Expectations

Toddlers may not be able to sit for long periods of time at the table. This is ok! If they have not eaten much of their meal, remove their food, let them leave the table, and offer it again at the next set snack or mealtime.


Since toddlers appetites are not a constant, trust that your toddler knows when they have had enough food or they want more. Offer a variety of healthy food choices. If they insist that they are still hungry for the cookies but not for the apples, let them know that they can have cookies again at a different time, but right now there is still an apple available. This reassures them that they will still be able to have their favorite food soon, but that there is a limit to how many they can have at that moment.


Avoid Snacking Close to Meals

Try to stick to a meal and snack schedule. This helps a child feel secure in knowing when they will have their next meal/snack and it helps you by ensuring your child comes to meals hungry, increasing the likelihood that they will want to eat what is put in front of them.


Be a Role Model

Your child is watching you to learn how to be a person! If they watch you and the rest of the family enjoying healthy food choices and modeling how to eat together, they will follow your lead.


Avoid Using Food as a Reward

Avoid using desserts as a reward or a bribe to eat other parts of the meal. This creates a hierarchy of food, where “healthy” food is considered the stuff you have to suffer through to get to the “good” stuff. Try to maintain neutral with the language you use around different foods to help your child develop a good relationship with all foods.


Timing is Everything

When you want to introduce your child to a new food, try to choose a time of day when they are most likely to be well rested and hungry. This helps to set you both up for success. If your child is at their best in the morning, try offering the new food at breakfast or morning snack.

child introduced to new food, eating a date


We hope this helps you navigate meal and snack times with your toddler! If you are looking for some healthy snack ideas, check out the following blog posts!