Picky Girl

Photo courtesy of Maryann Jacobsen

Ok Moms, there is good news and bad news about your picky eater. The bad news is, picky eaters can be frustrating and nerve-wracking. The good, no, great news is picky eating is usually over around the age of 6 or 7. Until then, what the heck do you do?

Mom and dietitian Maryann Jacobsen’s blog Raise Healthy Eaters is the calm voice of reason and where parents can go for nutrition advice. In Maryann’s informative series, she aims to “help parents understand why certain feeding strategies fail and others flourish.”

One of my favorite bits of advice is not to be a short-order-cook. With four kids and two adults in our house and everyone wanting different food at each meal, that would equal 24 different dishes a day.When you include snacks, it’s no wonder the shopping and cooking is making me nuts! I feel guilty if one of the kids doesn’t like what’s on the table and I worry about all of them getting enough nutrition.

With Maryann’s help, I now understand when we let kids decide what to eat, the situation gets worse. Rather trying to please everyone, Maryann has many suggestions including:

• Making time for family meals where kids watch their parents enjoying salad and veggies.
• Making food sound tantalizing by serving princess peas or X-ray carrots.
• While at the Farmers Market, have kids pick out a special fruit or vegetable.
• Cook with your kids. Helping with meals gives children a sense of ownership.
• Don’t nag.

Maryann reminds us little ones are learning to eat. You provide a variety of food, a positive environment and your child will turn out just fine. Check out her blog for a wealth of sound advice.

This summer we enrolled Jack in a kids cooking class. He loved the food and couldn’t wait to try out his recipes on the rest of the family. And wholesome cooking lessons wouldn’t be so bad for me either!

What advice would you have for parents of a picky eater? Were you and are you still a picky eater?

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