All toddlers seem to have a hot and cold relationship with eating. My daughter has days where I feel like no matter how much food I give her she is still hungry. On the other hand, she also has days where she won’t even touch the food I put in front of her. At the end of the day, toddlers will eat what they need, but I put together some of my favorite picky toddler tips that I use to get my daughter to eat on days when she seems more inclined to throw it on the floor!
Change How You are Presenting the Food
Toddlers tend to be very specific in what they want, but don’t always have the words to communicate it. Certain preferences can even be how they like their food to be served. I cannot tell you how many times changing how the food is presented to my daughter gets her to want to eat it.
I cut it into strips? Maybe she wanted it in little bite sized pieces. I put it into bite sized pieces? Maybe she wanted to be a big girl and eat it as one big chunk. I gave her a spoon? Maybe she just wanted to eat with her hands.
Whatever it is, changing up how the food is presented can sometimes make it feel like an entirely different food to a toddler.
Change Up The Scene
Sometimes it has nothing to do with the food at all. There are some days when my daughter just does not want to sit in her high chair. So, on those days we have lunch sitting on the floor or the couch, or even in my lap. Of course, always keep an eye on your little one if they are eating anywhere other than a proper chair.
Even making the transition to a smaller toddler table and chair as opposed to a high chair can make them feel more relaxed.
Making this simple switch can take the pressure off of feeling like they need to sit in a chair and eat that meal right now. By taking a more relaxed approach, your toddler may feel more comfortable to try new things!
You Try It First
I tried this tactic a few times before I realized I was going about it the absolute wrong way. Initially, I would serve the food to her, but she would refuse, and so then I would try to eat off of her plate to show her how yummy it is! This method does not really work.
Instead, I like to be proactive when implementing this. I start by eating the thing that I actually want her to eat. Most of the time I don’t give her anything and that makes her really want whatever I have. Then, once she is happily eating “my” food, I will go get myself something to eat as well.
Include a Safe Food
Especially whenever I am offering something to my picky toddler that I know she has never tried before or has tried a while ago but didn’t like, I make sure to pair it with something I know she likes. For a lot of toddlers, this could be berries, some sort of bread product, or even one of their favorite snacks.
I like to serve the safe food first, and then once that is gone introduce the new food. I’ve found that if I introduce them at the same time just on her plate, she’ll ignore the new food and just eat the safe food. However, every toddler is different and that might just be how mine works!
Introduce Food Slowly
Toddlers are very easily overwhelmed, so if they don’t seem like they are super excited to jump into a plate of new foods, that is totally normal! When this happens, I will take the plate away and just offer her one bite of food at a time. One bite of something suspicious is way easier to handle than a whole plate!
Remember They are Still Little!
If you are struggling with a picky toddler, just know that it is totally normal for their age. Don’t force them to eat anything they don’t want to. Instead, let them play with their food, experiment with it, and maybe they might end up liking it!
Our job as parents is just to expose them to as much of a healthy diet as possible. Even if they aren’t eating all of it all the time, they are definitely still benefiting from it!
