Recently I have noticed that my son has been acting a little more picky at meal time. Often if he does not want something, he will insist on pushing it out of his reach. He will also throw it on the floor, flick it off his plate, or offer it to my husband or me to eat instead. Some of the foods are new and I understand why he would not like them, but other foods are past favorites and I am baffled by the fact that he has decided to reject them out of the blue!
Sometimes we are not able to get him to eat or try all of the food on his plate no matter what we do. When that happens, we say, “oh, you must be all done,” and remove him from the table. Most of the time, however, we are able to get him to taste or eat these “rejects” by changing the presentation or talking to him about it. Sometimes we will eat some of it and that is enough to convince him that the food is good. Sometimes simply saying “eat it” is all it takes. There have been times when the only reason he wouldn’t eat a food is because I didn’t cut it into small enough pieces, so that is one thing I always try first. When those methods don’t work, we get a little more creative. My son likes to dip his food, so if I want him to eat something healthy, I might offer it with a dip. We went through a period where my son stopped eating chicken so we started putting a little barbecue sauce on it. He is now back to eating the chicken again, even without the sauce. I also try to fill his plate with a variety of foods. He might reject something if it is by itself, but try it if it is mixed in with a bunch of other foods.
Keep swapping out various foods and keep offering the ones your picky eater rejects. Play around with the presentation to make it fun and easier to eat. Try sauces and dips to add flavor to an otherwise boring entree. Do not offer junk food as a substitute. Your child will not starve and will eventually eat healthy foods if they are hungry enough. Sometimes kids just aren’t very hungry because they are between growth spurts. This shouldn’t be mistaken for picky eating and will likely pass very soon.