Ask An Expert: How To Give Your Picky Eater More Healthy Foods
Melanie Silverman is a registered dietitian and lactation consultant with more than 16 years of experience in pediatric nutrition counseling. She has spent seven years at The University of Chicago Medical Center as a clinical dietitian in the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, adult and pediatric burn units and high risk pediatric follow-up clinic. Her areas of expertise include picky eaters, food allergies, poor weight gain and much more. Here are five tips given by Silverman to help give your picky eaters more healthy foods.
Melanie Silverman
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 607-8248
www.melaniesilverman.com
Schedule Meals
"If a child has access to food whenever he or she wants, parents don't stand a chance for even a bite of chicken, broccoli or sweet potatoes at dinner. Cultivating a child's appetite for meals is important. To do this, I advise my clients to schedule meals and snacks at least two and a half hours to three hours apart that you eat as a family. The odds increase that the child comes to the table hungry for meals, ready to eat and even try new foods."
Plan Menus
"Parent's don't need to become gourmet chefs to break a picky eater. I know there are some that do not enjoy cooking, so we move slowly." Silverman recommends to start with one week of planning menus that she also helps create. One recommendation includes cooking or recipes with minimal ingredient lists that take less than 30 minutes. Cooking Light is an excellent place to start looking for recipes that are nutritious, delicious and easy to prepare."
Never Force-Feed
"If parents force-feed, bribe or play games with their children to eat, they are setting the stage for a poor relationship with food. When parents override a child's internal hunger and satiety cures to 'just take five more bites,' parents teach that child to ignore what the body is trying to say and eat beyond what he or she needs. Children should eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. This allows them to grow and settle at a weight that is right for them."
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Keep Quiet
"So many parents feel they must cheer, sing and dance when their child eats an asparagus tip, artichoke leaf or kidney bean because the praise will insure future interest in fruits and vegetables. To put it bluntly, this is a waste of time. Parents should focus their energy on family meals, providing nutritious and delicious food and talk about something other than the food and whether it was eaten or not."
Don't Worry About A Missed Meal
"Children skip meals. They also skip snacks. This is normal behavior, but parents worry incessantly when it happens. If a child is growing well and meeting developmental milestones, there should be no cause for concern if a meal or two or even three is missed. Parents should continue to plan meals and snacks and allow children to decide whether to eat or not."
