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Picky eaters usually refer to children who refuse to eat particular types of food. Many parents face challenges when their children are being picky eaters because this behavior could lead to health issues in the future. In the medical field, this is referred to as selective eating. It refers to a behavior that even adults can have: they are highly selective about what they eat and sometimes even limit the amount of food they eat.
Over time, picky eating has caused many issues, not only from the stress of eating every meal or the struggle of forcing children to eat but also from the nimble health risks posed by the little food intake during these formative years. Because of this, books like We Ate Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s House by Dr. LeAnna Hale-Ball are instrumental in exposing children to different types of food and making them more curious, even during the first decade of their lives.
What Are the Risks of Being A Picky Eater?
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Many studies show that picky eating can pose a bigger problem in the future, exposing children to the risks of becoming underweight or having nutritional deficiencies. Though it may not seem like a big issue at first, over time, this could lead to malnutrition, which can lead to growth and development problems, such as stunted growth from poor bone formation.
Moreover, as children age and begin attending school or different social events, the risks of being picky eaters extend to social issues. Meals are usually at the heart of social encounters. Think of all those times you ate lunch or shared snacks with your friends in school. Many of these children will experience various types of social challenges and even sometimes social isolation because they avoid food or have an unhealthy relationship with food. Addressing the issue of being picky eaters at its core would make a difference in the child’s overall health, future outlook, and relationship with food.
How Do We Prevent Children From Being Picky Eaters?
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Avoid Distractions When Eating
Sometimes, as we get older, we learn to eat alone and to entertain ourselves while eating. This means that we sometimes watch TV or movies while eating or listen to a podcast. However, this should not be the practice when the child is still in their formative years and just beginning to make a relationship with food.
While eating, all of their attention must be on the food on their plate; that way, they can enjoy the taste of the food and sometimes even get a little messy when they are trying to feed themselves or are curious about a type of food’s new consistency or color. This is key because it helps them be more aware of their goal, which is to finish the food on the plate instead of getting distracted and not paying attention to the food.
Remember that, unlike adults, children have different hunger cues and may not always recognize that they are hungry. So during meal times, you have to ensure that they can eat adequately, which they can feel and determine by a certain age, so long as they are not distracted by other things.
Eat Together
The best suggestion to give to children being picky eaters is letting them eat at the table with other people because they can see that eating is enjoyable and important, and it is a good or happy bonding time for the family. However, realistically, there are some days where the whole family cannot sit down at the table to eat together, so as long as there is a child under your care, that child must not eat alone. Whether they eat with their parents, caretakers, or an older child, it is crucial that they can see the behavior of others towards food, and like most children, they will also mimic what others are doing.
Sometimes, because you eat together, children still eat the food on the table even if they initially did not like the dish because they want to join the activity of eating together. In the long run, this will help prevent children from being picky eaters. However, while eating together, you must not force or shame them for not eating fast enough or at the same pace as others. Sometimes this unwanted attention and negative feedback could propagate being picky eaters.
Develop a Curiosity for Different Foods
Introduce your child to many different types of food at a young age. Though it is recommended that only one new dish be introduced per week, we can expose children to various foods by showing them a variety of fruits and vegetables, watching cooking shows together, or even showing them books with different foods. Interested in finding books like these? Purchase We Ate Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s House so your child can be introduced to other foods while helping your child learn the ABCs!
