“Oh, no, not dinner!!!” I can’t tell you how many times a week I here this very phrase.
Ahhh!!!! The dreaded mealtime with the PICKY EATER!
It can be nothing short of TORTUROUS!
For some kids picky eating is a phase and for others it is a way of life. I grew up a very picky eater (I still am to a certain extent), and, as punishment, I had a child who is also quite picky.
Doctors will tell you all the time, “Don’t worry, you’re kid is not going to let himself starve.” Well, that may very well be the case. However, while he won’t starve, that doesn’t mean he is being properly nourished. When Big Brother started eating table foods it all went downhill from there. He’d eat cheese, yogurt, fruit, peas, and berries; but give him broccoli, beans, meat, or bread and you’d have thought we’d given him poison. –He’s a very dramatic child– And don’t even get me started about what happened when we started feeding him the dinner that The Husband and I ate.
I have to say, though, that at almost 4 1/2 not only does Big Brother eat a well balanced diet, but he will also sit down at the dinner table and eat at least a little of what we’re eating.
So, what’s the trick to getting even the pickiest of eaters to try things???
Well, everyone has got a weakness. (insert sinister smile)
Big Brother’s weakness? Superheroes. Everyone in his family knows it, and we, his parents, capitalized on it.
The foods he rejected suddenly all had super powers. If he ate these super foods he would grow STRONG MUSCLES like Superman and be able to RUN SUPER FAST like Dash from The Incredibles. His “broccoli trees” have special vitamins that give him super strong bones, make his brain really smart, and give him super vision. His meat had protein to give him big muscles like all his favorite superheros. After dinner he’d show off his “bulging biceps” by picking up small pieces of furniture and then do laps through the house showing off the new powers he had courtesy of his super food.
I’ve really been quite surprised at how long the “super food” tactic has worked for. We’ve been using this for over two years now, and it still works like a charm.
Most families have at least one picky eater so let’s have it. What do you do to move mountains…err…I mean, to get your picky eater to eat?

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