Toddler Talk: Picky Eaters
I always swore there was NO WAY I was going to be “that mom”. That mom who makes something separate for their child to eat at mealtime, because they won’t eat what I just made for supper. Never. Ever.
Guess what? I’m that mom. Actually, I’m gonna share the blame here and say: “We’re those parents”.
** heavy, regretful sigh **
Briefly, in hindsight, here are some of the things we did wrong:
1. Didn’t feed her real people food until she was probably 15 months or more.
You can laugh, I don’t blame you. We were new parents, and we honestly didn’t know to do any different. We just kept feeding her baby food.
I still remember the look on the pediatrician’s face at that appointment. Sitting there with my over-one-year-old toddler and asking, “So, when can she start eating some of the same foods that we eat?” Yeah. He thought I was crazy.
What I wouldn’t give to go back in time and feed my baby girl a cheeseburger. You were born in South Dakota… you can’t NOT LIKE a cheeseburger! She’s good about eating single foods in their pure form (fruit & veggies), but does not have a very sophisticated palate when it comes to any mixed/recipe type entrees.
2. Fed her at different times than ourselves.
This is still an issue and thorn in our side. It doesn’t seem like it would matter, but she got used to eating at 10 AM, 2 PM, and then around 8 PM.
It throws everything off if your child is as regimented about their schedule as this one is, and then has no appetitite when the familiy tries to eat together at lunchtime (noon) or dinner time (6 PM). Seriously difficult to undo.
3. Fed her at a small kids table, not with us.
This is related to #2, but I realize now how it contributed to the problem. When she finally decided she was hungry… around 10, then 2, then 8 … no one else was eating. So she sat at her little table. And ate a specially prepared snack/meal made just for her, with things I knew she liked and would eat.
Aaaahhh… hindsight. We are doing things differently with her little brother now. And while I do think alot of it is the child and their personality, not making those same mistakes with him has helped.
What are your tips for a picky eater?
