Preventing Picky Eaters

Finicky eaters are a huge frustration to parents in the early years. Your approach to eating and food choices will set the tone for years to come.

Nashville mom Nicole Koenig knows all too well the pitfalls of picky eaters. Mealtime meltdowns are a regular occurrence with her son, Albert, now 5, and have been for years. Not only is he finicky about what he eats, but Koenig struggles with getting him to eat at all sometimes, even food he likes.

“Getting Albert to eat and especially to try new things has always been difficult,” Koenig says. “When he was younger and transitioning to solids, I learned quickly how picky he was. I couldn’t combine textures, there were only a small amount of things he would eat, and to this day, he has a meltdown anytime I introduce something new on his plate, which includes him gagging, screaming and crying.”

It’s always been a concern for Koenig, especially during early occurrences when Albert was a toddler.

Likewise, Murfreesboro mom Diana Post worries about her 2-year-old daughter, Cindy’s, lack of appetite and extreme disdain for trying new foods.

“I’m in the chicken nuggets rut,” Post laments. “It’s nearly impossible to convince Cindy to try new foods, and I’m tired of fixing chicken nuggets for her every day because it’s the only thing she’ll eat aside from pudding and brownies.”

Pediatricians remind parents that a child’s level of appetite shifts with age and growth cycles.

“What parents often interpret as picky eating is actually the fact that they don’t anticipate that growth slows down at 1-year-old, meaning the child will not have the same level of appetite,” says Gregory Plemmons, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics and medical director of the Pediatric Weight Management Clinic at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. “It’s natural for parents to have a lot of anxiety about it, but they should remember that kids will eat when they are hungry. I never recommend forcing a child to eat if he doesn’t want to.”

Felisa Gilbert, M.D., a pediatrician practicing with Tennessee Medicine and Pediatrics in Smyrna, adds that “growth is more linear between 15 and 36 months, and the body is good at extrapolating what it needs.”

A child’s sense of taste changes drastically during those months, and it’s important to keep offering him new options on the dinner plate, even if he doesn’t seem to like it. Gilbert says to at least insist on the child taking one bite of something new, and if he doesn’t like it, don’t force it. “Make sure to always offer things on the plate that you know your child will eat, and be prepared to introduce something new several times before a child may decide he likes it,” Gilbert says.