Picky Eater Coping Needs To Be a Family Affair
Do not let your picky
eater just sit there and complain about what is for dinner. This will only
fuel their ability to refuse what you put in front of them. Instead get your
picky eater involved by making meal preparation a family affair. (Info)
Picky Eater Coping Needs to Be A Family Affair
Why does it seem that the pickiest of eaters always try to pass
themselves off as the latest upcoming culinary critic?
It is especially annoying when you have spent a couple of hours
on a special Sunday dinner, only to have your six-year-old son
tromp the kitchen loudly declaring...
"Something stinks and I’m not eating it!"
Trisha, from England, said that her son is still her pickiest
eater and although he does not do it so much now, he used to be
famous for turning up his nose at her home-cooked meals and
insisting on eating prepackaged foods that were just made with
water.
On the other hand, some children have been known to prefer
instant macaroni and cheese because they can fix it themselves,
which gives them a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
That is why I highly recommend letting your children help you
in the kitchen with meal preparation. You see the more familiar
your picky eater becomes with handling the food the more
inclined they will be to taste it.
"Get a stepstool and ask your kids to lend a hand in the kitchen
with easy tasks," says Sal Severe, PhD, author of the book, How
to Behave So Your Children Will, Too. "If they participate in
helping to make the meal, they are more likely to want to try
it," he says. This can include pouring ingredients into a bowl,
draining the liquid from the corn, washing vegetables, or
stirring the contents of a dish.
In addition, encourage your child to help with mealtime
preparations by setting the table, folding napkins, clearing the
table after dinner, washing the dishes, or other age-appropriate
tasks.
Plan weekly menus together with your children, allowing them to
be involved in the decision making process. That does not mean
that mealtimes are planned around their expectations, but at
least they will have a heads up if you are going to serve
something new or different. You might even let your child pick
one night where he can decide what the menu will be. Even if he
just wants buttered pasta noodles and nothing else, you can
still serve sauce on the side along with a salad.
Most important of all...
Do Not Make Food a Major issue!
This will only lead to more serious problems in the future. As
children get older they want independence, they want to be able
to make their own decisions. If they start to feel that food is
an area they have no control over then they will often try to
take control, usually by becoming less open to new foods which
can lead to more problems in the future.
Allow your picky eater to make their own decisions and allow
them to be part of the solution!
_______________________________________________
Jason Katzenback shows you step-by-step how to successfully cope
with Picky Eaters through his highly praised resource Help There is
a Picky Eater in The House! Full of Proven Strategies and Great
Picky Eater Recipes that are Guaranteed to Help. For more
details and to claim your copy of this Step-by-Step resource,
visit this site now:
http://csteenda.webengtech.hop.clickbank.net
