Picky Eaters During the Holidays The holidays are a wonderful time to celebrate with friends and family. When you have a child who is a picky eater, it can become stressful. Holiday foods can be new, exciting, and scary for children who are routine in their eating and mealtime habits. Setting up your child for success before, during, and after mealtime is imperative.
Before: 1. Preparation is key. Set the expectations for your child. Have a discussion with them about what foods might be new and exciting. Discuss with them about how these foods might look, taste, and feel. 2. Allow your child to help with making the menu and preparing the foods. This will allow them to have positive exposure to the foods without the pressure to eat at mealtime. Perhaps even bring them along to the grocery store and have them help pick out the food items themselves, especially in the produce department. 3. Pack familiar foods to accompany the new foods that will be presented to your child to increase their comfort level.
During: 1. Decrease overstimulation. Taste is one of the senses. When other senses are heightened, your child can become overwhelmed. Allow them to trial new foods in a quiet space if needed. 2. Learning plate. Present your child with a plate of a small portion of each new item. Reference this plate throughout the meal and allow them to explore the food with no expectations. Explain how each food looks, tastes, and feels. 3. No ultimatums. It is important to not make dessert or a preferred food be the “reward” for trying a new food. Try not to preface trying a new food with phrases such as “just take one bite or no dessert.” This puts pressure on your child. 4. Don’t compare your child to other children. Place focus and attention on what your child is doing and give positive encouragement. For example “I love how you are keeping (non preferred/new food) on your plate next to (preferred food)” or “I love how you touched (non-preferred food) and brought it close to your mouth.”
After 1. Openly discuss the meal with your child. Take a few minutes on the ride home or in the kitchen after dinner to talk to your child about what they liked and did not like. Talk about how each food tasted and felt. 2. Offer open encouragement. If your child did not try a new food during the holiday meal, leave an open invitation for them to try one of the foods in the future. In conclusion, the holidays are meant to be enjoyable. Encourage your child to explore new foods at Thanksgiving dinner in whatever capacity they are comfortable with- even if it is just smelling or touching the foods, that’s ok! We wish you a happy holiday season!