Are you the frustrated parent of a picky eater? Are you worried that he may never learn to eat anything more than macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets? Have meal times become battles without a winner? Do you find yourself preparing two or three different meals each night in hopes that your child will eat something?
As a busy pediatrician I have listened to thousands of parents who were concerned because their children would only eat one or two foods. My advice is usually very basic: Present your child a varied menu in pleasant surroundings and eventually he will begin to eat a variety of foods. Of course, as a parent of a picky eater, you realize that this is not as easy as it sounds. Here are eight suggestions that should help you follow through with this strategy.

- Make Sure Your Child is Healthy. - Before you can begin saying, "No, I’m not going to fix three separate meals tonight," or "No, you can’t have breakfast cereal for supper," you must be convinced that your child is healthy. Take a trip to the pediatrician. Share your concerns with her. Hopefully, she will be able to reassure you that your picky eater is growing and developing normally, and that it is safe for you to enforce some simple rules about snacking, drinking and menu planning. You must be confident that you are doing the correct thing by saying no to unreasonable dietary requests.

- Limit drinking - Your picky eater should be limited to one cup of milk at each meal and one cup of juice at a mid-morning and a mid-afternoon snack. He may have as much water as he wishes. Overdrinking is one of the most frequent causes of picky eating, and it is by far the easiest problem to solve. Once your child no longer has his belly full of fluid he may find the food you serve more appealing.

- Limit snacks - Two snacks is all that your child needs. They should be served at specific times and should be nutritionally sound. By putting your child’s snacking on a schedule you will find it easier to say no to his whining for food between meals. Link the snacks to the events that your child can understand such as a television show or a walk to the mail box. Even the pickiest eater deserves two snacks a day, but keep them small, healthy and part of his routine. Grazing, even if it is on nutritious foods, won’t help your child to learn to eat mealtimes.

- Present one family menu. This may or may not include something from your picky eater’s short list of favorites. It does mean no substitutions and no supplements after the meals is over. This is the hardest advice to follow, but it is critical to successful management of a picky eater. Your child may not eat anything at dinner for a night or two. If is very difficult to accept the fact that your child is going to bed hungry, but remember he is just a little bit hungry. He isn’t starving. There will be plenty of food available for him when he wakes in the morning.

- Create a pleasant social atmosphere for meals. - This means no TV and no arguing. You would be surprised how a table cloth and some candles can improve everyone’s outlook on the meal. Promise yourselves that there will be absolutely no discussion of who is eating or not eating what. It can be difficult to sit by quietly and watch your child leave his plate untouched. However, I have found that parents who can restrain themselves are the most successful at coping with their picky eaters. Your silence and patience will be rewarded.

- Misbehavior must be followed by logical consequences. - If your child continues to beg for more than two cups of juice or whines that he is only getting one afternoon snack you must be prepared with a safe and logical consequence. If your child misbehaves at the dinner table you must have an effective response. The best tool I know is "time-out." Don’t be afraid to send your child to his room for bugging you for a third snack, or pitching a fit because three peas appeared on his dinner plate. Make it clear that he is being sent to his room for misbehavior, not because he hasn’t eaten what you have served.

- Don’t try bribery, coercion or threats. - These strategies don’t work in the long run, and they can make mealtimes unpleasant. Remember, no discussion about eating at the table. Don’t try to trick your child into becoming a member of The Clean Plate Club. Serve desserts once or twice a week to everyone regardless of what they did nor didn’t eat. Conditional desserts set a bad precedent.

- Set a good example. - Don’t snack at inappropriate times. Keep your own dislikes to yourself. If your three old already knows the five foods that you won’t eat, you have been sharing to much of yourself. Be a good sport and be adventuresome when presented with a new or unusual food. Your willingness to try something out of the ordinary will eventually be contagious.

Picky eating is a normal part of growing up for many toddlers and preschoolers. Your child will eventually learn to eat a balanced diet if you continue to present one to him. However, if you persist in serving him only what you "know" he will eat, he may never learn to enjoy of variety of foods.

I hope that you will find these eight suggestions helpful. They are just a place to start. Don’t hesitate to check with your pediatrician or a nutritionist for support. Learning to set limits for your child’s eating habits can make you nervous, but there are plenty of us out there who are eager to help you.

Dr. Wilkoff has been practicing pediatrics on the coast of Maine for more than 25 years. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. He is a columnist for Pediatric News (the leading independent magazine for pediatricians) and the author of Coping with a Picky Eater (Simon and Schuster, 1998). He has appeared on ABC’s 20/20 and The Today Show as well as numerous other radio and TV programs across the country.

Click Here - for information on how to buy Dr. Wilkoff's book "Coping With a Picky Eater"

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