1. Purchase Whole Foods
When you stock your pantry and refrigerator are with whole foods, your children will eat whole foods. One mom of a 14-month old recently asked me, “How do I stop her from eating junk foods.” The answer is simple, “Don’t buy them.” Unless your child has her own income and a driver’s license, she’s eating the foods you purchase.

Don’t believe the lie that some foods are “kid foods.” Fast foods, French fries, pizza, boxed macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, and the like are junk food. They offer little in the way of nutrition. Soda isn’t food at all…it’s colored High Fructose Corn Syrup (the worst kind of sugar). When these products are no longer stored in your pantry, your child will eat what’s available…whole foods.

Audrey is helping her mom serve dinner.

2. Have Family Mealtime
Today, many busy families eat together only three times a week. With just a little planning, you can change that statistic for your family. Initiate your supper with a prayer of thanksgiving. Take a few moments to acknowledge God and what He has provided.

When you make wholesome family meals and have real food in your home, your kids will eat whole foods. When you cook and eat vegetables during dinner, your kids will follow your example and grow up liking them. Your table should be a stress-free zone. Save discussions of the economic crisis, inflation, or the latest bad news for another time. Family mealtime discussions should center on each other and the good things God has provided.

3. Incorporate Multi-Sensory Learning
Good eaters naturally use all their senses. Picky eaters need to be taught how to incorporate all their senses during mealtimes. We usually plop a new food down and expect a child to eat it. It may take 10 or more times before a new food is accepted. Don’t pressure your child to eat something the first time she sees it. Incorporate all the senses before mealtimes by having your child help with preparing the meal. Then, during dinner continue to encourage multi-sensory learning by talking about the food. What color is it? What’s the texture like? What does it smell like? You engage all the senses when you talk about the food served, touch it and experience it by smelling and enjoying the flavor and texture.

Eating preferences often change. Parents should keep preparing a variety of healthful foods and putting them on the table, even if a child initially refuses to take a bite. It takes three weeks to develop a new habit and it may take 10 or more attempts when introducing a food. Don’t give up too soon. Keep the dialog around the table happy and the discussion of the food positive. Never announce you don’t like a certain vegetable (or allow anyone else for that matter). Auditory learning is vital; your child will certainly follow your lead. When children experience the attributes of a refused food, it’s more likely they’ll eat it.

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1. Take Just One Bite
The one-bite rule (one bite is required of every food) is ineffective. Studies show children react negatively when parents pressure them to eat foods, even if the pressure offers a reward. The one bite rule translates to a child that ”some food is so YUCKY only one bite is required.” The issue is compounded when parents offer a reward, such as watching a video or offering a sweet dessert, for tasting a refused food. Bribing kids to eat certain foods teaches children that holding out will prove to be beneficial. Food should never be offered as a reward for behavior.

Aaron takes one bite.
Aaron’s mom is a professional photographer.
You can see her work at Mary Beth Graff Photography: http://www.mbgpics.com/

2. Sending Kids Out of the Kitchen
You’re busy and kids need supervision in the kitchen. They can and get in the way of getting the meal on the table in time. Although, when children are involved with food preparation, it’s more likely they will eat what’s been prepared. Of course, all food preparation should be parent-supervised. Kids shouldn’t get too close to hot stoves, boiling water, and knives. Meal preparation is an important first step in getting picky eaters to try new foods. The older your picky eater is, the more he should be involved in food preparation. Even a toddler can help wash fruit and veggies, peel a banana, mix ingredient, etc. You will soon find that you have a budding chef in your midst, instead of a picky eater. To read the “10 Commandments for Kitchen Safety” Click Here.

3. Permitting Snacking Before Mealtimes
Parents often sabotage their best efforts when they allow snacking before mealtimes. Snacking on junk foods or even nutritious munchies too close to mealtimes is guaranteed to dull the appetite. You’ll never convince a child to eat a refused food, if he’s had a snack thirty minutes beforehand. Snacks should be timed two hours before a meal. You are in charge of the kitchen and the kitchen should be closed before meals. If your toddler’s tiny tummy can’t wait until dinnertime, then prepare a mini-meal including veggies, not a cookies or crackers, and then don’t expect too much at dinnertime.

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However, researchers from Hunter College and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Scientists show that three-month-old infants go beyond face-to-face social interactions. They even use social cues to process objects in the world around them.

In this study, three-month-old infants viewed images of people who looked at new objects with either fearful or neutral facial expressions. Infants’ brain activity showed their processing of new objects varied, depending on the emotional signals the adults used.

Pictured above: Aiden is smiling at his mom.

Pictured below: Mom is Helena’s security.

It seems our babies are using our facial expressions as reference points for everything. If you want your baby to be secure in the world, this study indicates you must present the world and the things in it as safe.

It stands to reason, if you want your children to eat healthy foods, then you must enjoy them yourself. The best way to ensure a healthy eater, is to eat whole grains, veggies, and fruits yourself. Smile when you’re eating them, because your baby is watching you!

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The animation in Ratatouille is surprisingly lifelike, at times you almost forget you’re watching an animated film. The story centers around Remy, a cuddly rat-chef, who has an especially delicate nose. He not only appreciates finer cuisine (over a rat’s typical banquet of garbage), but has a love of the culinary arts. Ratatouille is extremely entertaining and the plot is intelligent with multi-dimensional characters. Ethics are an important element made evident in the moral dilemmas Remy faces.

When we viewed Ratatouille in the theater, I was aware of the noise level as it was extremely low, indicating the children were engrossed in the story. At times, I glanced around, just to see if the kids were really following the storyline. If they missed the finer points of culinary cooking or the implications of the moral dilemma at hand, it didn’t take long for laugher to erupt when the tempo quickened with a catastrophic spill or chase. This more than made up for any dialog that might be lost on younger children.

As people piled out of the movie theater, it was obvious that children and their parents alike adored Ratatouille. Hip, hip, hooray! At last, a healthy role model for kids. Enough of cartoon characters promoting fast foods and sugar-laden cereals. Finally, a vegetable-loving Remy. So what if he’s a rat? He loves to eat whole foods, even eggplant and of course cheese.

My enthusiasm quickly faded, as I become more aware of the children. They gleefully exited the theater with a candy box held in one hand and a soda pop in the other. Unfortunately, this entertained and amused generation is the first that’s not expected to live as long as their parents—the candy and soda pop are an obvious indication of why this is the case.

Remy is not only cute and clever; he’s a lover of whole foods. Remy’s culinary tastes are too sophisticated for junk food—remember, he loves Ratatouille! Take this opportunity for your prodigy to emulate his enjoyment of gastronomy. “Don’t hork it down!” Remy instructs his brother, Emile, when tasting a new food creation, but slowly chew it and appreciate the flavors.

Ratatouille is one of my favorite Mediterranean vegetarian dishes featuring eggplant and tomatoes. Unfortunately, many times vegetable-challenged kids often consider Ratatouille to be “yucky” and refuse to eat it. Somehow, Ratatouille seems not only an appropriate title for an animated film about a culinary-loving rat, but justified.

Rent Ratatouille for a fun project. It’s perfect for a rainy or snowy day. When you watch it with your kids, emphasizing whole foods and how much fun it is to cook. Then your kids can follow Remy’s example: make Ratatouille for dinner. After all, Remy has so much fun cooking; your kids can, too!

First, involve them in the planning and preparation of the meal. Take your kids grocery shopping and let them help you purchase the items for Ratatouille. Then, discuss the ingredients listed on the nutrition label of a sugary breakfast cereal. Would Remy eat that? NO! He would create a breakfast masterpiece with scrumptious oatmeal or cream of wheat. Finally, let your child help prepare Ratatouille. While giving it a stir, observe it as it cooks. What’s the texture like as it begins to heat up? Take a long, slow whiff. “Mmmm, that smells soooo very good!”

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Despite Julie-ann and David’s best efforts, food battles were the norm. They tried every parenting trick and were at a loss what to do next. If you have a picky eater, you know firsthand how frustrating it can be to get her to eat one nutritious tidbit.

On the other hand, my granddaughter Nicole, loves whole foods. Nicole just turned two and mealtimes are always an adventure for her. Instinctively she uses all her senses during mealtimes. She regularly bypasses the spoon and picks up food in her hands, feeling its texture before taking a bite.

The first time a sweet potato is offered to Nicole, she gives in to her curiosity. Picking up and examining a piece of the orange tuber, she squishes it between her fingers. Her joy is evident as she presses the warm sweet potato through her fingers and then plops it onto her plate.

Joshy is on pictured on the right and Nicole on the left.

Nicole doesn’t immediately taste it, but continues in her discovery of the attributes of the sweet potato. She then turns her attention to the rest of her meal. Eventually, she comes back to the sweet potato and without prompting, a small sample finds its way into her mouth. Nicole, naturally uses all her senses in her discovery of various foods.

Parents expect taste alone should be enough when introducing new foods to their child. Here’s some food for thought: employ all the senses when introducing healthful foods to any child, especially a picky eater. Learning to eat nutritious foods is a process, in which all the senses must be engaged. This is called multi-sensory learning.

Most picky eaters need to be taught how to incorporate multi-sensory learning into their mealtimes. It doesn’t matter if you’re four or forty, multi-sensory learning works. Once a picky eater’s senses are engaged, she’ll be on the road to healthy eating. Auditory learning is essential and discussing the meal is vital. Keep the conversation about the food positive. “What color is broccoli? Green food is yummy! Is the broccoli smooth or rough?” What does is smell like? Surprisingly, the last sense to incorporate is taste.

To avoid food battles, make mealtime a learning experience. Whenever possible engage your child’s senses with food preparation. Children are like sponges as they soak up everything around them. Encourage your picky eater to appreciate once-refused foods, which have unique colors, textures, smells, and tastes. Each food is different and different is fun.

Learning to appreciate new foods should always be a multi-sensory experience. Yes, it’s necessary for your child to pick up his food in order to learn about its characteristics. So, get the handy wipes ready!

Multi-sensory learning is the foundation of the Baby Bite Steps. In fact, in about a week, after the implementation of the Baby Bite Steps, even the most food-resistant child will pick up and eat a formerly refused food.

To learn how to transform your picky toddler, preschooler, or grade schooler into a healthy eater… Buy the Book at the Baby Bites Store Now! Click Here.