How do I get my child to eat a wider variety of foods?
Straight out of the gate, I’m going to encourage you to eat a family meal every evening. There’s no better way to encourage your child to eat a greater variety of foods than for him/her to see you eating and enjoying a variety of foods yourself. That said, I do understand that some children are trickier than others in this regard.
Let's talk about development. Children go in and out of phases where they’re more or less open to trying new foods. For example, children who are potty training often go through a fastidious phase in which even a spilled drop of water is cause for alarm. Potty training children also can become sensitive to textures, making some foods that were once appealing no longer tolerable for a period of time.
Here are a couple of tried and true ideas that can really help.
Don’t look too closely. My pediatrician used to say, pay attention to what your child eats over a two week period rather than on a day to day basis. One day they may eat more, one day they may eat less. One day they eat loads of protein, the next day it's all carbs. When you add it all up, though, you’ll likely find that they’re eating a decent sampling of foods.
During the 5 or 6 O’clock hour when I was scrambling to get dinner together and it felt like my children were hungry sharks circling the kitchen, I would put out a plate of raw veggies and hummus or ranch for dipping. I’d put out raw broccoli, celery, carrots, tomatoes, jicama, cauliflower, and whatever else I had on hand. My children were so hungry, they’d devour it before they had time to complain. That would buy me some time to get dinner going and I could then cross veggies/salad off the menu for the night.
Have fun! Part of the beauty of sitting down for a family dinner is that you can talk and enjoy each other’s company. Ask questions about each other’s day. Be a little playful. While I would not recommend children play with their food, I do recommend a little bit of playful interaction at the table. Have a crunching contest to see whose carrot makes the biggest crunch. Pretend the whole table shook when your picky kid took a big bite of celery!
Encourage your child to take a Food Adventure Bite… sometimes he/she will be surprised and find a new food that they like. Other times, they won’t be happy. Make this a part of every meal.
As a rule, it’s good self defense to have some kid friendly items on the table as well as some challenging, more adult items. Kid friendly items include: cheese, plain pasta, rice, mac and cheese, etc.
After your child has taken a Food Adventure Bite, it’s worth having a conversation about whether or not they liked what they tried. If not, I recommend saying “yes” to them getting an easy alternative that you’d be happy to see them eat. These might include: peanut butter, hummus, yogurt, or string cheese..
Mealtimes are an opportunity to come together as a family and enjoy each other’s company. Eat together, laugh together, and listen to stories about each other’s day. The early years offer a huge opportunity for you to expose your kids to a wide variety of delicious foods. I highly recommend taking advantage of this very open-minded time of life. It gets harder as they get older so be brave and start early!
