Ten-year-old Clay refuses to eat any vegetables, other than green beans. He doesn’t like Italian or Mexican foods either. This is problematic since his family lives in El Paso and his mom loves to cook Tex-Mex.
Clay explains, “I always get what I want for dinner. It doesn’t matter what the rest of the family is eating!”
Clay knows if his family is eating Mexican, Italian, fish, or any thing else he’s predetermined to be yucky; his mom will make a special dinner, just for him. He can always be pacified with a hamburger and French fries, his favorite foods.
Moms of picky eaters are typically left to their own devices, as the advice from busy pediatricians is sparse. “Don’t punish your child for rejecting certain foods,” usually doesn’t come with the solution as to how to get your kid to eat anything nutritious.
Busy moms often fall into the trap of coping or pleasing their finicky child, because kids are experts at parent manipulation. To make matters worse, moms of junk food eaters are offered little direction on how to help their youngsters develop healthy eating habits. Practical solutions are limited. The standard One Bite Rule translates to a child, “some food is so yucky—only one bite is required.”
Desperate moms often endeavor to please or cope with their finicky eater. Many times, mom just takes on another job of short-order cook, just like Clay’s mother. Overworked and stressed-out moms often retreat to the sure-to-please fast food option.
Food preferences are often formed by age four and food aversions are frequently carried into adulthood, unless there’s a dramatic change at the dinner table. Experts forecast obesity and illness in this generation’s future, because faux food has replaced whole food. This generation is the first not expected to live longer than their parents. Your fifth grader has outsmarted you, if you permit your kid to refuse food, make individual requests for dinner, and help himself to junk foods.
You Can Be Smarter Than Your 5th Grader!
Your child’s health is in your hands. You’re the one who controls the food purchased and stored in your pantry. You’re the one who plans the menu. You’re the one who decides when snacking is permitted.
It’s amazing at how quickly a picky eater will change, when snacking is limited to two hours before a meal. A child who has just eaten a snack, will never be convinced to eat a food predetermined to be yucky.
When whole food replaces faux food and multi-sensory learning is incorporated into the dining experience, kids learn to appreciate nutritious foods. Multi-sensory learning is the visual, auditory, and tactile ways learning occurs. Take the time to talk about the meal, what foods look like, smell like, and how do they grow? Most times, parents expect that taste alone should be enough to convince a child to eat a certain food. Surprisingly, taste is the last sense that should be experienced with a new or previously refused food. Include multi-sensory experiences with activities in the kitchen, food preparation and experimentation. This is vital for transforming a picky eater into a healthy eater.
You’ll outsmart your fifth grader when you control snacking, purchase whole foods instead of faux foods, then add multi-sensory learning to your kid’s dining experience!
Written by Nonna Joann Bruso, Author of “Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater”
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