My daughter was a very picky eater. When she was three, the "airplane" maneuver worked fairly well, but by the time she was six all she did at dinner was push the food around on her plate. As a single mom at the time, there was only the two of us to cook for and I'm no gourmet, but she refused to move beyond the basics of hotdogs, macaroni and cheese, and occasionally spaghetti. I believed that a family dinner table is important, so I persisted in trying to get her to at least taste different things.

My aggravation meter climbed sky high.

One day I happened to mention my dilemma to her school counselor, and he suggested that I just let her make a peanut butter sandwich. This bothered me because, being the mom, it was my job to cook a nutritious meal for my child. While there is nothing wrong with peanut butter, children need a variety of wholesome food.

I pointed out to the counselor that my peanut butter jar was kept on a shelf that my daughter couldn't reach and he suggested that I rearrange my kitchen - for a six-year-old! I thought he was nuts.

I do not believe that children make the household rules and I do believe that as the adult I am the boss. And I was determined that my daughter do what was expected of her, which was to grow up healthy and relatively happy (I say "relatively" because my ideas were definitely not going to make her happy).

I continued to cook for the two of us, "normal" meals: pizza or spaghetti sometimes, macaroni sometimes, meatloaf, peas, salads, scalloped potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, and so forth. I told my daughter she had to eat six small bites from her plate; she could choose which item or items to eat. If, however, she didn't at least TRY everything, the plate would go back in the fridge for the next meal.

Did it work? Nope. Not at first - she just might be as stubborn as I am. She ate quite a few unusual breakfasts that first week: barbequed pork sandwich, tuna noodle casserole, and potato soup. Since I was a fairly new mom, I was just beginning to understand that this time frame is about right for a six-year-old - change doesn't happen overnight, but it does happen if you stick to your guns!

Now, four more children later, I've used the same methods; the number of bites coincides with the age of the child. My youngest, still at home, has outdone my daughter on the pickiness scale - but the same technique still works wonders!

Learn more about this author, Robin Tidwell.
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