Many families are frustrated by the limitations of their picky eater. If you happen to fall into this category, you’re not alone! The good news is that there is hope for change.
When it comes to trying to broaden the foods your child is willing to eat without an epic battle, it can be helpful to switch your approach for a bit. A great starting point, that may be different than what you’ve tried in the past, is to approach food through sensory exploration and play, rather than eating! Taste is not the only sense involved in eating; sight, feel, and smell also play an essential role in the eating experience.
Shifting your goal to asking your child to be willing to play with the food instead of eating it, may be setting your child up for greater success in that moment. Then through repeated exposure, familiarity and comfort can increase, which just may lead to a greater willingness to taste, and even eat a new food.
Change is not immediate, but an evolution over time. You can jumpstart this process by implementing an aspect of excitement about sampling new cuisines. Try having FUN with food items, exploring the various types of vegetables and fruits, colors, textures and shapes, with no expectation of eating it (just yet). Since your kiddos may be anxious around food, try these sensory-related games with some new smells, textures, and foods, and be ready to dig in, and even get a bit messy in the process!
Here are some games that you and your child can play to have fun around food:
- Scented bubbles: Enjoy the warmer weather by adding vanilla extract or other smells to bubble solution. Blow bubbles together and have a fun experience with a new smell.
- Snow cones: in a blender or food processor, crunch up ice until it is in tiny pieces. Blend in one strawberry or a few blueberries and ask your kiddo to guess what fruit was added.
- I Spy: Farmers’ markets are beginning to open back up. Visit a farmer’s market (or a grocery store) and play "I Spy" with the produce.
- Texture Play: Plop some food onto a plate or try and just ask your kiddo to play with it. Can they draw letters in applesauce? Use mashed potatoes to build a snowman? Having your child learn to enjoy playing with food bolsters their confidence.
- Which is better? Ask your kiddo to compare two different versions of the same food. Don’t ask if they like either of them - the answer will likely be an automatic “no!” and that will be demoralizing for both of you. Instead, ask which is better - a frozen grape or a room temperature grape? Apples in slices, or apples in cubes? Bananas whole, or sliced with cinnamon powder? Look for ways to make small changes and explore results.
- Blind-fold touch and say: With your eyes closed can you guess what food you are feeling? A slice of a banana, a grape, an apple, ketchup. Dig your fingers and and feel around to see if you can guess the food! What clues do you notice? Is the food smooth, cold, hard, how does it smell?
Think of your child's favorite foods as a safe little island. They never want to leave! Rather than taking them off that island completely, begin by introducing new activities that they can explore on that island. Choose items that align with the similarities of those coveted foods. For example, if your child enjoys chicken nuggets, cut them up instead of having them whole. Do they like pancakes? Try cutting them into triangles and other shapes, also adding a bit of apple juice to the batter. These small adjustments will expand their comfort zone and grow their little island of tranquility.
Lastly, we tend to aim for perfection in this “food department” and want to please the entire family, yet that’s not always realistic. Begin by focusing on every small step forward and celebrate that!
About Balance 360 Nutrition
Balance 360 nutrition focuses on research-backed recommendations to optimize brain health, development and performance. By providing education and support around our pillars of nutrition we empower you to set a foundation of a brain-healthy lifestyle. Through one-on-one meetings with our nutrition experts we meet you where you are and help you set realistic, achievable goals to elevate your brain health.
Our primary areas of focus consist of fuel, hydration and reducing systemic inflammation. Fuel provides our bodies and brains the nutrients needed to function at an optimal level. Proper hydration affects every cell in our bodies. We work to identify and minimize common dietary drivers of inflammation including added sugars, ultra-processed foods, dyes and artificial sweeteners.
