Having a picky eater, you may feel as though all your toddler will eat is chicken nuggets and french fries. While sometimes this may seem to be your only option (the kid’s gotta eat!), try not to get frustrated by this common toddler behavior. Make healthy food choices available and know that, with time, your child's appetite and eating behaviors will level out. Wondering if there is anything you can do to raise a more adventurous eater? Plenty actually, starting right now.
Mommy Tip #1
Involve your toddler in the meal planning. Let your child pick out different fruits and vegetables while at the grocery store. You can put your toddlers natural curious senses to test by allowing them to touch, smell and sometimes even taste food while grocery shopping to help spark their interest. Take along a few different kid-friendly cookbooks and let your toddler pick out new recipes to try. Having their buy-in now will help later!
Change up the way you cook your toddler’s favorite foods. You might decide to prepare the food baked, roasted, sauteed or steamed. Assure them that it is the exact same food and ensure that you serve the main course alongside some of their favorite sides. Due to the different flavors and textures, it might take you up to 10-20 times before they (realize they) like it, but hang in there! Patience, mama.
Mommy Tip #3
Try making food fun! Toddlers can’t resist trying foods that are arranged in eye-catching, creative ways. Make foods look irresistible by arranging them in fun, colorful shapes kids can recognize. Kids this age also tend to enjoy any food involving a dip, so think about different sauces that you might want to try. Finger foods are also usually a hit with toddlers.
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Mommy Tip #4
Come together as a family and enjoy dinner together. If your toddler has older siblings, make sure that you highlight how much their big brother or big sister enjoys their meal. Serve one meal for the whole family and resist the urge to make another, special meal if your child refuses what you've served. Try to include at least one food your child and the rest of the family likes with each meal so that you don’t encourage picky eating.
Looking for a few fun recipes that might just be a hit for your little picky eater? Check out some recipes from My Fussy Eater! They have loads of great ideas of things that you can try out with your toddler and help to break the habit of them being a picky eater! Just make sure that when your child does eat, you use our Bazzle Baby GoBib to make cleaning up after meals easy and mess-free!
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