What to do about picky eaters during the holidays

By Dee Madore, .RD., Registered Dietitian

Here are some tips for pleasant holiday meal times with picky eaters:

This can lead to eating disorders later.
It is normal for children to go through periods of refusing to eat certain foods or new foods.
Allow experimentation.
Provide healthy choices.
Don't cook something different for their dinner.

Make familiar choices available
Allow your child to help prepare meals.
- Rinsing vegetables
- Stirring muffin or bread mixes
- Preparing baking sheets for dinner rolls
- Measuring

Parent's responsibility -- Parents still decide what comes into the house and what's on the menu, as well as setting structured meal and snack times (no short-order cooking!)
Child's responsibility – The child chooses what and how much to eat from what is served at meal and snack times.

Serve small serving sizes of bite-sized pieces
Include a variety of color
Mix unpopular food into favorites
Have child help with grocery shopping
Avoid making issues about your food preferences
Eat with your child and become a role model
Offer one or two new foods each week
Allow 10-15 presentations for your child to try the new food
Limit access to "empty-calorie" foods
Limit juice to a maximum of 4-6 oz. per day and milk to 16-20 oz. per day to prevent filling up on liquids
Every meal or every day doesn't have to be balanced. Look at the week overall.