Picky Eaters ?
Ellyn Satter, who is a social worker, psychotherapist and registered dietician has worked in the field of feeding children for over 40 years. Her Division of Responsibility in Feeding as it pertains to families is as follows:
Parents’ jobs are to choose and prepare foods, make eating times pleasant, provide regular meals and healthy snacks, and model mealtime behavior. Kids will model what they see their parents do: if the parents avoid certain foods because they don’t like them, their children will, too. If parents are always eating fast foods, they cannot expect their children to want to eat vegetables!
During lunch sign ups, we frequently meet parents who are reluctant to sign their student up for our school lunches because their children are “picky eaters”. They won’t eat broccoli …or carrots…or salad. Exposure to these foods is the key to liking them. A child will need to try a food 10-15 times before he are willing to eat it. If it is not being served at home, then there’s no way this food will ever become a success! Try serving these foods at home and don’t get discouraged. Model your enjoyment of them: eventually your child will begin to enjoy them, too.
