DISCLAIMER ~ This post is sponsored Constructive Eating. All opinions are my own. I only share content that excites me and I feel would be beneficial to Canadian Moms. Let’s dive into talking about picky eaters, shall we?
Have you experienced the frustration of preparing a delicious, healthy meal for your family, only to learn that someone (or worst case scenario, EVERYONE) won’t eat? I have been in this position MANY times over the past 13 years of being a Mom. Picky eaters are a REAL problem that many families experience on a daily basis.
When you have picky eaters in your home, the best thing you can do is be armed with many tricks up your sleeve. The ones that I have found work best for me are the following:
- Distract with fun plates and utensils.
- Have a healthy alternative available.
- Make it a game.
- Give them a challenge.
- Ask them to start by giving it a kiss. Work up to licking the food. Then, take a mouse sized bite. And work your way up to taking a giant dinosaur bite.
When children are learning how to use utensils, they need to have the tools required to set them up for success. This includes utensils that have an easy grip for little hands. Have you ever experienced a child getting easily frustrated with a knife because they’ve been told they cannot use their hands to push food onto their fork? The brilliant “pusher” (as we like to call it) from Constructive Eating has eliminated many dinner time meltdowns.
When you provide picky eaters with easy to use utensils, it’s a game changer!
Children who are at the early school aged years are learning how to coordinate their fine motor skills. This can be quite frustrating at times (remember how hard it was at first to cut in a straight line with scissors?). When you provide them with the option to use child-sized, fun coloured and shaped tools, you are empowering them with choice (which is KEY) as well as setting them up for success physically.
Put yourself in your child’s shoes for a moment. If you have trouble remembering how hard it was to eat something you didn’t like as a child, think about what it would be like to be forced to eat under cooked rice or pasta. When you think about an extreme situation like under cooked food OR a food that has WAY too much salt (as an example) , we can begin to understand how a picky eater feels. AND if we think about gardening without the proper tools OR painting a room in our home with a tiny paint brush, how frustrating that would be. That is how our young children often feel when it comes to eating with “manners” (e.g. using utensils properly).
Be careful, because picky eaters can quickly change the eating battle into a power struggle!
(and we know who ALWAYS wins those!)
It’s Giveaway Time!
Prize: 1 lucky winner will receive a Constructive Eating Plate and Utensils Set
Ends: June 30, 2018 11:59pm EST
Open To: Canada/US Residents 18+ (void for QC residents and where prohibited)
