Almost all pre-schoolers go through a "fussy eater" phase.
It's normal, if potentially crazy-making.
One week your three-year-old wants to eat nothing but pasta.
The next week he wants nothing but chicken and peanut butter.
The one thing you can count on if you have a picky eater is that the food of choice isn't likely to be brussel sprouts.
For some reason, green food rarely makes the little critics' cut.
Mealtimes with a child who has distinct and definite ideas about what's worth eating and what isn't can turn into a battle of wills.
Frustrated parents rarely win these battles if they go head-to-head with their youngster.
A determined small child can wear down even the strongest parent.
Rather than engaging in a food battle with your toddler or pre-schooler, try backing off and using the following five tactics.
Used consistently, most parents find they will achieve a mealtime truce, if not a total conquest.
1.
Beginning with the first introduction of pureed food, follow your pediatrician's advice to introduce just one food at a time.
Add new foods consistently and regularly.
As your toddler advances to soft foods, and then small finger foods, your child will already be accustomed to a great many flavors.
Don't stop serving these foods when your child advances beyond the prepared baby food stage.
If you do, your little one may "forget" the flavor and you'll be back at square one.
2.
Reduce snacks and drinks other than water between meals.
Make sure that scheduled snacks are not too close to your child's mealtime.
Hunger is a great motivator.
If your child refused to eat at a previous meal, he or she will be more ready to eat at the next.
Very few children will voluntarily starve themselves for long.
3.
Eat together at the table as a family.
If you are alone with your young child during the day and you prefer to have your own meal later, sit at the table and have a very small serving of whatever your child is having.
Toddlers and pre-schoolers who observe their parents and their siblings eating their meal without a fuss will be more likely to do the same.
A child who sees everyone eating something different at different times is much more likely to demand a "special" meal, too.
4.
Stop fixing "alternative" foods for anyone unless there is a medical reason.
Young children who see their brother or sister get a special alternative meal because they "don't like" what's for dinner are very likely to copy the behavior they see.
At the same time, avoid forcing any child to eat something he or she really does not care for.
If a child truly does not like one item on the menu, offer a second helping of something else that's already on the menu.
Over a period of a few days you will find that each child still usually gets a balanced diet.
5.
Avoid battles over "take just one bite" and "clean your plate.
" A child who has decided today that she doesn't want to eat something will not be encouraged to "like" the food by being forced to eat it.
Always offer tiny servings.
If a child wants seconds of something, wonderful! Forcing a child to finish food that he or she does not want will ultimately be a battle you will lose.
It's amazing what a determined child can hide in a cheek if pushed.
Every parent will come up against the fussy, picky eater sooner or later.
Take a deep breath, don't be drawn into the battle, be consistent, and you'll look back on these days fondly when that same child decides to be a picky eater with serious attitude as a teenager.