Easy Picky Eater Friendly Hacks You Need to Try
I started writing this post over a year ago. I had read everything, tried everything, and saw very little success. Each kid is different, so it’s hard to know what will crack the code for your picky eater. For mine, it was a combination of innovation, fun, and leading the witness haha. Here’s the snippet I started in December 2021. As a spoiler, I want to say that he went from not eating meat and limited veggies to eating fish, steak, chicken, cucumbers, carrots, and more.
Me, a frustrated mom that thought I had it figured out:
“For nearly two years I’ve struggled with an extreme picky eater. When do kids become picky eaters? For my son it was a few months after he turned 2. What makes some kids picky eaters? I’m not sure, can’t say and there’s no way to truly ensure it won’t happen to you. But we had gotten down to only about 5 foods that he would eat and like outside of snacks. There is no magic solution to picky eating. I read many articles and tried many methods and recipes for picky eaters before I figured this out. Picky eating will end on the child’s time. I know that may ruffle some feathers of parents that make kids eat what they make or starve but it’s true!
One day something in my toddler just clicked. He was as tired of eating the same few things as I was giving it to him. So he started eating shortly before age 4.”
Game Changers For My Picky Eating Kid
In that snippet, I thought I was winning because I got my child to eat jerky and a few chicken nuggets. Hey, I was grasping at whatever progress I could get. The good news is one of the things I’m about to recommend is the thing that I purchased that changed the game in 2021. Now here we are in 2023 with a much healthier, more diverse diet! Here are two items that forever changed our lives. Now my baby is putting on weight and growing taller within the 50th percentile, when he used to be in the 5th.
How to get a picky eater to eat.
Bentgo Box
Packing lunch to send to daycare was crucial to getting my kid to eat. We went from a daycare that didn’t allow packed lunches to one that required it and boy am I glad! I had seen the food the daycare was offering and I was less than impressed. It was balanced meals but they didn’t look tasty. And when they would offer things I told them he ate, like green beans, he would stop eating them at home because he was mislead and they didn’t taste the same.
The switch to packed lunches (even at home now) really helped me be able to reinforce new food options.
The Strategy: Introduce new foods at dinner. Your child will likely pick over it or have to be coerced, but as long as it’s something you can get them to taste, you’re good! Then, pack that same food in their lunch along with some of their favorite items but not too many. The key is to pack other things they will eat but that won’t fill them up without eating the new item. Eventually your child will catch on that they still feel hungry waiting until they get home to eat if they don’t eat the new thing. Repetition is your friend! It may feel wasteful at first, but especially at home, you can just eat things they don’t.
Fred’s Dinner Winner Tray
This is the item I purchased in late 2021 that changed everything. My son loves games and I really get into character to help him get into it.
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