If
you have a picky eater, you probably have more trouble than usual getting them
to eat nutritious food during the pandemic. It’s a stressful time, with less
strict scheduling and more chaos, and these factors can make choosy kids even
less open to trying healthful food at a time when their lifelong eating habits
are being formed.
Rather
than throw up your hands and just surrender to a plate of colorless, processed
fare, prepared at any old time of the day, pediatrician Dr. Patty Sabey has come up with a helpful list of suggestions to get through this rough
patch with the conviction that you are looking out for your kids’ health,
despite all the new challenges.
Parents
can use her five strategies to encourage picky eaters to try new things,
including a reliable game Dr. Sabey plays with her own kids. That’s right:
getting your kid to eat right can be fun.
READ MORE: Working with picky eaters
When the pandemic was declared in
March and schools shut down, one of the many things families needed to do
overnight was figure out how and when to feed their kids. Most families I know had so much going on, so
much scrambling, they just stocked their pantries and refrigerators with
whatever they could find on shelves and, feeling both anxious and sorry for
their kids (for a number of reasons), they let any “food rules” slide.
Now
that we’re eight months in, and school is back in session both online and, for
some, on site, we’re back to a semblance of predictability. Dr. Sabey says
sticking to a schedule is especially important. “Sometimes making a list or a
simple overview of the schedule for the day with mealtimes, family time, and
break time can help your children set some expectations,” she advises. This
eases tensions and helps kids be more adventurous with their meals.
Among
other helpful tips, Dr. Sabey advises families to eat together, to mix old
favorites with new foods, and to go grocery shopping together.
Five
Tips
from a pediatrician and mom of four kids
- In
general, stick to a schedule
- Arrange
sit down mealtimes
- Get
the family involved in food planning
- Add
favorites to meals
- Be
creative with food
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