by Janeen Elite

Created on: April 07, 2009

The first thing to do if your child is a picky eater is to not overly worry about it. If your child is a healthy weight and height (your pediatrician will inform you of this on your annual visits) you don't need to worry about the occasional skipped meal or the occasional unhealthy one.

Try to monitor what your child eats for an entire week as opposed to a daily basis. Quite often you will find that by the end of the week their diet is pretty well balanced and you don't need to worry about how they eat on one single day.

Serve Dinner Early.

Most children really are hungry at around 3:00 when they get home from school. This may be the best time to feed them their evening meal and then simply give them a light snack later. This is especially true if your child is not big on eating their lunches in school. Try to avoid giving them after-school snacks which will make them less hungry at dinnertime and may cause them to act pickier than usual.

Half And Half

Offer the child some of what you are eating and some of what they like to eat. It is absolutely fine to serve them some chicken alongside a half peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Tell them they can have the half a sandwich after they eat their chicken and before you know it, their plate will be clean.

Serve Smaller Portions

Quite often we all put a little more food on our plates than we really need to eat. But with children who are picky eaters, this can be especially intimidating. Start by giving smaller portions on a smaller plate so it doesn't make them feel like they are facing this monumental meal that will be a fight for them to finish.

Introduce A Little At a Time

Sometimes children truly don't like what is being offered, and sometimes they are simply being stubborn in not wanting to try something new. If you are introducing a new food, simply give them one or two pieces of it and tell them they must as least try it. If they don't want anymore for that evening it is fine, but tell them the next time they are going to have to eat two string beans instead of just one.

Allow a Once A Week Pass

Give your child the option to skip one meal they don't want a week and tell them they can replace it with a sandwich, toast or a bowl of cereal for that one night only. Give them a special pass they can use and then let them decide which meal they will use it for. This will make them feel more involved in the decision making process and will give you a break from hearing how they do not want what is being served night after night.

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