Mazzy is not a very good eater. We try. Really we do. But most of time, Mazzy will eat a few bites, scream “I’m done!” and then demand television and sweets.
Unless, of course, ketchup is involved. Then she might sit still for a second or two. Not that ketchup means Mazzy actually eats her meal…
My daughter prefers to think of food as a vehicle for ketchup. Rarely is a bite taken. Just a lick of ketchup off a chicken tender and then a re-dip.
Sometimes, Mazzy even discards the chicken tender entirely and goes straight to the source. Fork to ketchup.
Dinner is a battle we lose nightly.
My friend, Brandy (aka Mannly Mama) seems to have a much better handle on how to get her picky eater to eat. She posts a series called Toddler Dinners on her blog every Monday.
What I like about Brandy’s dinners is that they aren’t fancy or complicated. You don’t have to be Martha Stewart with a food processor and a melon baller to pull them off. The photos of her suggested meals look almost too simple to be effective.
But don’t let looks fool you. A lot of trial and error has gone into each meal.
Today Brandy is sharing what she’s learned since she started her “Toddler Dinners” series. I’m hoping her success will rub off and maybe someday soon, my child will eat something other than condiments from Heinz.
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Every little kid is different but I think we ALL struggle with how to get them to eat. Toddlers are fickle beings. They love broccoli one day and the next it might as well be shit on a plate.
I made all of my son’s food as an infant. I chopped tiny pieces of chicken breast. I boiled eggplant. Black beans, bananas and quinoa? Down the hatch. Cooked spinach and pears? MORE PLEASE!
Clearly I was going to rock that “Mother of the Year” application.
Then Landon learned the word “no” and realized the power behind it. And all my hard work went out the window.
But soon, I realized it wasn’t a picky palette, it was a control mechanism. If he was tricked into eating something, he never mentioned that it tasted bad. Presentation and strategy were big deals.
Here are my TOP 10 TIPS TO GET YOUR KID ON BOARD AT DNNER:
1. Offer a known quantity. If you know they love one food (let’s say bananas), put a small amount of bananas on the plate with the new food. They will eat the bananas first (duh) but once they are gone, tell them they have to finish/try other bites before they can have more bananas. The key is to not give so much that they can fill up on that one food.
2. Offer a special treat. Otherwise known as: bribery. At our house, if you eat good bites (90-100% of the meal) you get a special treat. This may just be a hershey kiss. A small cookie. Yogurt raisins. Doesn’t have to be much but it gives them a sense of control. They choose their fate. Plus, it is always nice to have something to take away in case they are being little assholes at the table.
3. Novelty. Presentation means A LOT to toddlers. Even basic things like cutting carrots into strips one day vs. semi circles the next can make a huge impact. Try cookie cutter sandwiches, things stabbed with pretzel sticks and special silverware. And be sure to switch it up.
4. Have dinner as a family. Dinner is much more interesting for a toddler when he’s sitting alongside Mom and Dad, chowing down just like everybody else. Even if your kid’s dinner time is really early, try to readjust your schedule so you can join him when possible. He’s got way more incentive to stay at the table that way.
5. Offer salad. I know this seems a little specific but I can’t tell you how many people have been surprised by their toddler’s love of raw greens. I was surprised too. I assumed Landon would hate the texture but then one day he wanted to try mine. Now its a go-to for us. Kid eats spinach leaves plain. Strange, I know.
6. Don’t be afraid of soup. I was afraid until some of my readers urged me on. Then I learned to make chunkier soups with pasta included and it worked out just fine. Learn from my mistakes!
7. Variety. I keep leftovers of everything. Then I can whip together meals really quick that always surprise Landon at dinner time. He is always trying new things and we don’t make a big show about it. Daycare also helps here. Kid eats more curry than either of us!
8. Give choices. This goes back to a toddler’s need for control. Letting them choose things is a big deal… and you can still control the choices. “Would you like broccoli or green beans?” “Can you choose your plate from the cabinet?” “Strawberries or bananas?” Simple choices always curb tantrums in our house. .
9. Be a role model. If you or your partner are a picky eater, it’s time to take one for the team. If you turn your nose up at something, your child sees this. If you try something new, they may try something new. My husband has tried a lot of new things in the spirit of toddler dinners…and some things he has really liked!
10. DIPS! Pretty simple. Kids love to dip their food. Even if it is gross to you, a condiment may make all the difference in the world. And don’t just stick with ketchup and ranch. Try hummus, yogurt, honey, fruit puree. Some of these dips even have some protein involved. Better yet? Let them choose!
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Check out seven examples of Brandy’s toddler-tested dinners over on Babble today.
My two-year-old loves her sauces. Brown sauce (asian toasted sesame), white sauce (ranch), and ketchup are at the top. And she’d definitely eat JUST those if she could. If she’s got carrots, broccoli, green beans, she’ll dip them int he sauce, lick them clean, repeat.
There are a lot of good ideas here, though. I’m gonna talk about a few with my wife.
Yep! I agree with everything posted. Also (1) don’t underestimate the power of peer pressure – it is surprising how many picky eaters eat whatever daycare serves – sometimes peer pressure and known lack of choice works wonders (2) when I know my kids are tired and I am too tired for a battle I just serve a healthy variety of easy liked foods. Cereal, milk, and blueberries for dinner? Cheese, crackers, lunchmeat, yogurt and veggies for dinner? Why not? (3) Watch what your kids eat prior to dinner – kids are notorious for being tired, cranky, and not in the mood for a huge meal by dinner – when home and wanting to expand palates lunch is usually best. (4) if I want my kids to try a new food sometimes I will specifically NOT give it to them but only to their father and I … the forbidden fruit and all … sometimes they don’t notice or care, most times it peaks their curiosity enough to demand at least ” one bite! I share your food Mommy!”. Bwaa-haa-haa!
Boo Boo went through the ketchup phase and I bought organic ketchup because of the amount she would eat. 😛
Love the forbidden fruit idea! Awesome!
Dinnertime has really become disastrous at our house. My 4yo used to be a great eater, but not anymore. After reading this article, I realize it might not be a drastic change in her palette, but rather, the need to control. DUH. Thank you for these tips! Seriously, I’m going to approach dinner differently, starting tonight.
At least ketchup has the tomato as a redeeming quality. My daughter prefers butter as her dip of choice. She has been known to dip bacon in butter. And, like the chicken tender it’s dip – lick butter off of bacon – re-dip, ad infinitum (or until mom starts to dry heave and removes all sources of saturated fat from the table).
Fav tip is #1 by offering a little bit of food baby likes. And I’m also learning that it’s ok to “fail” a meal because it’s all trial and error. TY for reminding me to think like a toddler. The only thing I DONT agree with is using a special treat as a reward for eating 90/all of the meal b/c I think eating should be seen as good/bad behavior.
My kid (now 5) used to eat a ton of ketchup. He also used to get frequent canker sores. His dentist suggested that the canker sores may be caused by high acid foods (as there are no issues with his teeth that are causing abcesses).
So once the kid learned that his beloved ketchup may have been causing his canker sores, he wouldn’t touch the stuff.
I was really hoping this would present a great opportunity to break his saucing habit and introduce him to the real taste of his food.
Instead he asks for ‘white ketchup’ (ranch dressing). *facepalm*
These are awesome tips. I especially loved the mentioning of allowing soup and salad. Turns out both of my kids LOVE soup AND salad…very good way to get veggies into my oldest who is EVER picky. My son’s name is Landon too. Must be a Landon thing!
High fives for Landons! Yeah the salad and soup have been a great addition to our menus. Keeping salad around is so easy and great way to get dark greens!
They are controlling little things. I am finding everything with a toddler is about control. I can tell when Landon doesn’t seem to get enough at school. The evening is filled with him trying to win SOMETHING. “I want to potty outside” “I want THIS fork” “I want to wear no pants”. Once we say yes to SOMETHING, the night gets a little better for him. So I am preemptive about giving him a choice…or a job.
But now I am rambling. We can chat about this over our cupcake date 😉
Great tips as always! We are still on a veggie strike, but D’s overall eating has improved since starting daycare. Yay! Based on your post about salad, Brandy, I gave him some raw spinach the last two nights. Monday night, he removed it from his plate. Tuesday night, he tried a piece. He spit it out, but at least he tried it. I consider that progress!
I always give my daughter (2) a spoon to eat with, which she never uses – but I make a big deal about it. One night I fixed all finger foods and made a big deal about it – and she cleaned her plate! I’ve also used toothpicks… very fun – just be careful of after-dinner swordfights if you have multiple kids. I also never ask “What do you want to eat?” I ask “Do you want eggs or noodles?”
Pretzel sticks are my tool of choice. Edible and functional.
this is such a timely post for me, our once adventurous eater has slowly turned into a white food only kid. sigh.
Our niece used to refuse to try things, but say that she had already tried them and didn’t like it. We knew otherwise so we would tell her that it was a shame that she was going to lose her credibility. That girl would try ANYTHING to not lose her credibility (She was four. She didn’t know what credibility was but she WANTED IT). It wasn’t like we were feeding her dirt or just anything, but we wanted her to be open to trying new things. We’ll surely end up with a child who refuses to eat anything no matter what. Hmmm….
Peer pressure is brilliant. My daughter at steak for the first time because she saw her friend Ella eat it. Also they called it “yummy meat” instead of “steak”. Mike makes steak all the time but Mazzy has never even tried it. Now I just say, “Do you want yummy meat like Ella?” and she goes for it.
My toddler also loves sauces. Even as a baby she’d want a spoon to eat her ranch with (forget the food entirely!) Last summer I discovered she would eat Chipolte’s guac (with nothing else). I figured well, there’s chunks of avocado in there so that’s healthy, right? But her WORST habit? Eating butter with a spoon. Oh man, I really just about gag sometimes when she wants to do that. (Dad’s fault entirely, her g’pa used to eat sticks of butter at her age.)
This is awesome!! Thank you for sharing this. My lil one is an incredibly picky eater and her chart would match Miss Mazzy’s!
[…] up with Ilana at MommyShorts.com this week for a double guest post about toddler dinners. I give 10 tips for getting your toddler to eat over at her place and a weekly sample at Babble. Go check em […]
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