Picky Eating: Tips, Advice and When to Seek Help

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This is a sponsored post presented in partnership with ABC Pediatric Therapy Network. We are proud to work with them to provide today’s parents with expert advice and information.


Breakfast. Lunch. Brunch. Snack. Dinner. Supper. Tea. Dessert.

There are so many wonderful words to describe the plethora of chances we get to eat each day.

But what if your child’s favorite word for all of these times is “Yuck!” or maybe “Ew, gross!”?

Picky Eating: Tips Advice and When to Seek Help

While most parents, at one time or another, have heard those words from their children (I mean, who really likes cooked spinach anyway?), hearing it multiple times a day can be exhausting, and frankly, worrying. Did you know by age three your child’s diet should typically consist of a variety foods with various textures, sights, temperatures, colors and consistencies? If your child is not eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, and mixed foods (such as mac and cheese or spaghetti), then your child may be a picky eater. So, when should you be concerned that your child is having more than normal picky eating struggles? When do you need to seek help from the professionals?

We turned to our friends at ABC Pediatric Therapy Network for answers to that question, and to get some ideas for successfully feeding our picky eaters at home.

CMB contributor Holly knows very well the struggles involved getting a toddler to eat.
She says, “We don’t really know if Reagan is picky or too busy or what she is. Every single day we have to wonder what she will eat or if she will even eat at all. As soon as we think we have her diet figured out, she decides she likes nothing.

Does this sound familiar to you? Probably.

Avoid Increasing Anxiety Around Meals

Interestingly enough, we’re learning that some of the more common discipline techniques, including time-out and making the child stay at the table until all the food is gone, turn meal times into more stressful occasions for children. This increased stress makes it even less likely that they will eat what’s provided, or even – gasp! – try something new.

ABC Pediatric Therapy has some ideas for making meal times productive, not stressful.

In fact, they specifically advise against requiring a clean plate. Not only that, the environment for eating is also very important. Sitting down together as a family is the best way. (We know it’s tricky with busy schedules, but the extra effort is worth it!) If children see their parents and/or siblings eating a food, they will have a more positive association with it. Sitting in front of the TV or iPad will make them a less active participant, and if you closely scrutinize them as they eat, it could make the child stressed or even fearful. It’s easy to see how having someone stare at you as you take each bite would make mealtime less enjoyable!

Picky Eating: Not All Chicken is the Same

Finally, even though you might be tempted to force the child to try a food, it’s usually not the best option. (Remember the old Life cereal commercials? Even Mikey had to decide on his own to try it.) Forcing them can increase their anxiety about food and mealtimes. If they aren’t willing to try a food, see if they will do something else with it, including touching, kissing or licking the food. 

Like many parents, Holly mentions offering the same food often because it was likely that Reagan would eat it. And then, one day, she refused that food, too! What’s the deal, kid? ABC reminds us that, just like an adult, a child can get tired of one particular food. Try to make sure to mix up meal choices enough so that they don’t get sick of a food and kick it out of their diet. (Out, chicken nuggets, out!)

What to do When Things Aren’t Improving?

If you feel like you’re always providing new foods, singing songs and generally standing on your head in an effort to get your child to eat, it’s time to look closer at what’s going on. Click here to take a FREE online screening from ABC Pediatric Therapy to get an idea of where your child is developmentally.

Mealtimes and food are such an important part of our society and culture. Picky eating can lead to serious health concerns and have long-term effects on the well-being of the child. Picky eaters often have a very limited diet – eating only a handful of foods willingly. Because of this, picky eaters are not typically getting all their nutritional needs each day. Not only does picky eating affect a child’s health and well-being, it also negatively impacts the social well-being of the child and the family as a whole. As a parent, one of your primary roles is to provide for your child, and not being able to fulfill that role can be stressful, isolating, and extremely frustrating. Picky eating can lead to refusal of foods and negative behaviors from the child (screaming, crying, etc.).

These red flags are signs that you might need to see expert help for your child.

  • Inappropriate weight gain (under/overweight)
  • Choking, gagging, coughing, or vomiting with eating
  • Difficulty with accepting different textures of foods
  • Not accepting an entire food groups (i.e. fruits, vegetables, meats…)
  • Food range less than 20 foods
  • Child fights with parent about foods or mealtime

CMB contributor Leslie shares her experience seeking help at ABC Pediatric Therapy for her son.
“For months, my husband and I struggled to get our oldest son, who at the time was around three-years-old, to eat food. Any time something new was offered on his plate, even in a separate “compartment,” it would send him into a tailspin of worry, doubt, and fear. It’s hard to explain, but I could tell from his reactions that he didn’t truly want to feel this way, but for some reason his food aversions triggered some anxiety and it turned mealtime into such a huge struggle for us.

For so long I blamed myself; maybe I hadn’t made him try enough foods as a baby, maybe I wasn’t pushing him enough, maybe I wasn’t cooking the right things. Eventually, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I knew I needed help. I called and made an appointment with ABC Pediatric Therapy. After his initial assessment, we agreed upon weekly visits to begin to understand and approach his apparent sensory processing issues when it came to food. The therapists worked with him each session to simply try to get him to interact with the food. He didn’t necessarily have to eat it, but if he could at least use some of his other five senses to explore it then that would start to break down some of his barriers.”

Picky Eating: Try, Try Again

When a child is anxious and unhappy at meal times, it tends to make the experience miserable for the whole family. ABC Therapy has some suggestions to increase the sensory tolerance for new foods.

  • Allow touching of non-preferred foods with fingers
  • Discuss food properties, varieties, preparation and preferences
  • Try variations of foods (cooked vs raw carrots)
  • Try changing the temperature of the food (frozen, cold, or room temperature grapes)
  • Try different dips or sauces that the child prefers
  • Read books about trying new foods, from your local library

If you are trying these techniques at home and you are feeling lost, don’t hesitate to call your pediatrician and ask for help! Eventually, these kids will eat, but you might need a little help. It’s not your fault and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Just ask Leslie and her son.

Leslie’s story with ABC Pediatric Therapy ends on a positive note.
“During our time there, they also helped to give me practical tips and advice on ways to approach this at home too. Just going and talking with the therapists gave me such a sense of relief to realize that his issues weren’t anyone’s ‘fault’. He just needed a little extra help and support in exploring new things, especially food, with his senses to relieve some of the anxiety within that he couldn’t properly express.”

Please don’t despair! If you need help on how to care for your picky eater,
call your pediatrician for guidance or visit ABC Pediatric Therapy online for more information.

Click here for a FREE online screening to see whether your child is on track with development.

Picky Eating: ABC Pediatric Therapy

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Jen Amrhein
I was born in Cincinnati, but grew up in northwest Ohio. After graduating from Miami University, I worked on websites for the Dayton Daily News and Chicago Tribune. Before starting our family, my husband, Nick, and I moved home from Chicago to the west side of Cincinnati where he grew up. We've been here for 17 years now and have two wonderful boys. I'm currently a freelancer, specializing in web design, editing and content creation. Being a freelancer allows me to run my boys to their various sports, music and academic events, while allowing me to stay in the working world. In my spare time, I love to read, go to Pure Barre classes and travel whenever possible!

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