The Best Kid Friendly Recipes

Common Questions About Feeding Children:

How do you get your child to eat vegetables?
This is a challenge that I think more families struggle with than we let on. A few things that I try to do are to keep offering, even if you know they might not eat it. You never know when they will decide to try something.

I can’t get my child to eat at the table. Am I a failure?
The resounding answer is NO. You are definitely not a failure if your child will not eat at the table with you. We struggle with this too. And to be honest, my stance is that as long as he eats something, does it really matter where he eats?

I know that my stance might not be the conventional answer, but it’s not worth the fight to me. We do offer to have him eat at the table with us, and sometimes he chooses to eat in a different room. I’m fine with it because I know he will likely eat, even if we aren’t staring at him.

How do you stop your child from being a picky eater?
I am no expert here, but here are some tips. Again, offer different types of foods, even if you don’t think they will eat them.

Remember that your child’s tastes could change on a daily basis. It’s frustrating that they love something one day, but hate it the next day. This happened to me with our 1 year old. She was all about chicken fried rice, and then wanted nothing to do with it the next day.

Kids need variety (again…just my opinion). This doesn’t mean that you have to go to the ends of the earth to cook something for them. This means that small changes could be all it takes. See the answer below for tips on small changes.

What small changes can I make?
If you offer a sandwich one day and want to offer it again the next day, try cutting it in a different pattern. Or use cookie cutters to cut it into a different shape. This provides that “variety” that kids crave, but you still are serving them the same sandwich.

You can also change up the sides that you offer. Instead of berries, maybe try applesauce. Or a pouch. Or offer the cookie with the meal. You never know, they might eat more if the cookie is offered at dinner time.

What about desserts or treats?
This might be controversial, but I sometimes offer a cookie or dessert with dinner. My 3 year old typically will eat it, but also will eat dinner.

If I say something like “You have to eat all of your dinner for a treat”, this leads him to not eat as much as he probably would if it was offered up front.

Think about changing the mindset that you have around food. The negative connotation you have developed through years of diet culture over dessert isn’t helping your children learn a healthy relationship with food.

Desserts or treats are still food. And if it’s healthy or not “as” healthy doesn’t mean your child shouldn’t eat them. Offering dessert is a family decision, but we have found that it usually works well and our child will still eat his dinner if a cookie is offered with it.