When my daughter turned two-and-a-half, her eating habits changed. Suddenly, all she wanted was fruit, yogurt and plain, refined carbohydrates.
Any mixed foods or protein sources were extremely suspect and cooked vegetables, an insult.
As a parent, I entered the frustrating position of not wanting to eat the same meal every night but also not wanting to have to bribe or negotiate my daughter to eat supper. Cooking two different meals is not appealing but neither is having her wake up at 2 a.m. and complain that she is hungry. So what is a parent to do?
First of all, know that this is a very normal stage that most kids go through. Secondly, keep in mind the “big picture:” what you want is your child to learn to enjoy eating a variety of healthy foods that will support their health. This will not happen overnight and will not happen if every meal turns into an unpleasant power struggle.
Ellyn Satter, considered the “guru” of children’s eating, contends that it is the parent’s role of what food you serve and when, but it is the child’s job to decide how much and if they eat at all.
She would recommend that you offer a good variety of food to your child (some protein, vegetable and carbohydrate), making sure there is at least one thing on the menu that you know your child will like. However, if your child chooses to only eat one thing, it is okay. The idea is that over time, if healthy foods are offered and healthy eating modelled, your child will learn to like many foods.
There are a couple things you can try:
• Cut down on snacking: Picky eating is often a result of lack of true hunger. If your kids have been filling up on crackers and snacks all afternoon, broccoli is going to be a harder sell.
• Serve deconstructed meals: for example, if burritos are on the menu, reserve some of the vegetables, cheese and beans/meat to put separately on their plate.
• Try introducing new foods at other meals besides supper. Children are often very tired at this time of the day and less able to handle new experiences.
• Try serving the same foods a different way. Appearance and texture can be important to children: try things raw versus cooked, or chopped small rather than big.
-Serena Caner is a registered dietician who works at Shuswap Lake General Hospital.
Her column is returning to the Observer after she took a maternity leave.