Picky eating or having specific food preferences can be a normal part of development for toddlers. This may look like not liking food touching or an unwillingness to try new foods. Neophobia, or a fear of trying new things, can be common during toddlerhood.
However, when selective eating habits impact mealtime participation, nutritional intake or family meal structures it can become more serious. This may mean your toddler only has a few foods in their diet, such as a specific type of chicken nuggets or refusing an entire food group such as fruits, vegetables or meat.
There are many different reasons a child may refuse to try a new food or eliminate foods from their diet as they age. A child may have sensory sensitivities such as an aversion to touch (or tactile input) and may dislike their hands or face being messy. They may not want to try foods with sauces or purees or foods with lots of different components and textures (i.e. fried rice). A child may also be overly sensitive to oral input and interpret certain flavors as more strong or “spicy” than others. They may have a strong reaction to foods they do not like such as gagging, vomiting or becoming very upset.
Feeding a child is a huge responsibility that can be extremely stressful and difficult with a selective eater.
A problem eater is a kid who has less than 30 accepted foods in their diet and would need to seek professional help from an occupational or feeding therapist.
See the 6 tips below to help address or prevent selective eating for your toddler.
- Division of Responsibility
Oftentimes, meal times can turn into power struggles. A way to reduce anxiety and stress around meals is to think about the division of responsibility. That means you are responsible as the caregiver for your child when meals happen and what is served during meals. Your child is responsible for whether and how much. A good rule of thumb is to serve a larger serving of a preferred food (for example, mac and cheese) and a smaller portion of a non-preferred food (i.e. broccoli) so your child does not feel overwhelmed with a plate full of foods that they do not like. You can also think about the 80/20 rule (i.e. 80% of the meal is foods that are part of the kid’s diet and 20% are new foods or for the purpose of food exploration).
- Mealtime Structure
Try to avoid controlling the quantity of food your child consumes. That means not having them “clean their plate” or take “x number of bites” before they can be all done. This teaches kids they have autonomy and responsibility over their own bodies and can also help foster internal hunger and fullness cues. Parents can help kids stay on track by offering meals and snacks at regular intervals and times during the day so the child will always have a chance to fill up their tummies at the next meal opportunity. Offering a healthy snack and water between larger meals can help ensure that kids are getting optimal nutrition and calories.
- Demonstrate What To Do
Show your kids how to explore a new food such as using all the senses. Smell, touch, and taste foods by licking or taking tiny bites. If your child does not want to taste a new food, try having them feed you instead! Try to use rich descriptors for food such as crunchy, chewy, sweet, salty, tangy, etc. and avoid “bad” or “good”. We don’t want to “yuck” someone’s else’s “yum”! Try using a simple rating system such as ranking foods from 1-10, 1 being “not my favorite” and 10 being “my favorite food ever”!
- Follow Their Lead
Take off the pressure by trying not to instruct your child to explore the food in a certain way or through bribery (i.e. just take 1 bite, then you can have dessert!). It can be really challenging to pull back as a caregiver, but when we put pressure on kids to eat new foods before they are ready it actually may reinforce picky eating. Instead as stated above, model how to explore foods or involve children in other activities to expose them to different textures, tastes and smells.
- Exposure to New Foods and Textures
Try doing a few activities a week outside of traditional meal times that are just for food exploration and “food fun”! For example, use broccoli to paint an art project, make “apple stamps” using cookie cutters, or categorize foods by shape and color. Involving kids in the meal preparation process such as grocery shopping or cooking is a great way to expose kids to new foods in a fun and relaxed way. Another fun idea is to have kids help by serving items family style and having kids serve the family new foods or carry things to the table.
- Have Fun!
Remember that eating is supposed to be a fun and enjoyable experience. Try keeping things light-hearted and fun at the table and during food exploration activities. Eating a meal with family and friends is one of the most important occupations for people across the lifespan. Making sure your toddler has positive early feeding experiences can help them enjoy this very important task for many years to come!
If you are concerned about your child’s picky eating, start a conversation with your pediatrician or give our office a call!