Learn about my 12 tips for preventing picky eating in childhood.

Do you have an older child who’s a picky eater and don’t want to make the same mistakes again with your baby, but don’t know where to begin?

Are you a new parent and worried about starting solid food and fussy eating? 

I’ve learned a few things over the years as a pediatric nutritionist. Picky eating is one of the most frustrating phases of early childhood. But the power struggle can be prevented (in many cases).

How can you prevent picky eating before it takes root and affects the dinner table for years to come? I’ll show you how!

In this article, I’ve listed my top 12 suggestions for preventing picky eating. Let’s help you set up the right environment so your young child is open to trying new foods, develops a healthy relationship with food, and the impact of the picky eating phase is minimized.

12 Ways to Prevent Picky Eating

Picky eating in toddlerhood is very common, but this doesn’t make it easy for parents. Whether your child will only eat their favorite foods, refuses new flavors, or jags on the same foods day after day, being picky seems to be part of the developmental milestones toddlers navigate. There are many things you can do to encourage your child to try new things, encourage a variety of taste preferences, and promote healthy eating. 

Starting at an early age with these 12 principles will help you avoid selective eating in the future.

1. Introduce Finger Foods On Time

Most babies are ready to use their fingers to eat at around 8 months of age. They move from scraping or raking food off the tray with their whole hand to using their pincer grasp (when the pointer finger and the thumb come together and can pick up a single item of food).

When your baby shows curiosity about the food everyone around him is eating, and shows the desire to eat independently, follow their lead and let them dig in. Finger foods are an excellent way to introduce healthy foods to your toddler. This time of learning and exploration is fun for both of you!

2. Avoid Sweets (As Much As Possible) Until Age 2 Years

Sweets are everywhere! You have to be aware of added sugar and avoid too much sugar in your baby’s diet.  

I know this isn’t easy, but sweets early in life can crowd out nutrition and food variety. Plus they can easily become a preferred food.

A preference for sweets may change behavior towards other foods in the diet, like vegetables.

Sweets are often a part of celebrations and special occasions, and sugar is very hard to avoid. Offering sweets to your baby only occasionally is a good idea. It’s best to keep them to a minimum.

3. Keep Milk Drinking In Check

It’s tempting to rely on milk for nutrients, especially when you have a picky eater. Even though milk can offer good nutrition for young children, there are a few reasons why you don’t want your child to drink too much.

The calcium in milk can interfere with iron absorption, leaving your child lacking in this nutrient.

I made this mistake when my first-born was a toddler. She was picky and I used milk to compensate for her low food intake. Unfortunately she became anemic as a result. Milk is a healthy food for children, but this is an example of how too much of a good thing can turn out badly. 

Limit milk intake to a daily maximum of 16 ounces (2 cups) per day for toddlers.

4. Follow Responsive Feeding Practices From The Start

Responsive feeding is the foundation of future success in feeding your child. Not only does it set the foundation for mindful eating, it helps you anticipate your child’s hunger and fullness.

Rather than worrying about how to get your child to eat, set your attention on being the most tuned-in, attentive feeder you can be.

Why? When kids don’t experience responsive feeding, they themselves can become detached from their appetite cues, which may make it harder to regulate eating.

5. Offer Challenging Food Early And Often

When my third child was born, I opened the doors to barbeque sauce, Tabasco, and mustard. Spicy foods like Thai cuisine and Mexican fare were all on the table. 

Offer your child small tastes of a wide variety of foods, and expose them to different flavors, spices, and cuisines.

You can begin as soon as your child is eating solids, or around 7-8 months. Yes, preventing picky eating starts in the high chair! 

Have you heard of flavor training? Swipe a little bit of food on your baby’s lips even earlier, at around 4 months or so. 

This is a way to introduce bitter vegetables at a young age so your child can become familiar and develop a taste preference for them. Note, there is no eating happening, just a small taste on the lips.

Steer clear of raw fish and sushi, as well as honey. It’s dangerous to offer raw foods to young children.

6. Keep Offering Food Even If Your Child Rejects It

It’s pretty normal for a young child to turn up his nose to unfamiliar foods when they are on the table, especially if they’re in the picky eating stage. 

Don’t let that discourage you. 

Many kids reject food on the first try. They need to see new foods several times before they warm up to them.

Don’t give up. Keep offering without much pressure to eat the new stuff.

(Research tells us a child needs to experience a new food at least 8-15 times!)

Remember, your job is to expose your child to a variety of foods, whether or not your child eats them (or you like them yourself).

7. Aim For 50-75 Different Foods By Age 12-15 Months

The more foods in your child’s diet at this age, the easier it will be when they drop foods when the typical toddler picky eating stage emerges.

How do you get started?

• Make a list of nutritious foods from each food group. Foods you’d like to see your child eating.
• Target 10-15 different foods from each food group.
• Set those as the goal foods to introduce to your child.

Why the specific number?

Having a foundation of real food from each food group will give your child variety within and between food groups. 

This is key to a wide palate and accumulating additional food options down the road. But don’t get too caught up in counting. This framework of food offerings is just a way to help you see the job at hand.

Check out my Learning to Eat Baby Food Tracker to help you keep track of all the foods your child is tasting and learning to eat.

8. Transition To The Family Table By One Year

Pull your child up to the table for the main meal as often as possible. They will commune with family and absorb the valuable lessons that naturally come at the table: manners, communication skills, eating skills, and more.

Your child learns by watching and taking in their environment. Sharing a meal at the table allows them to watch what others eat and teaches them what makes up a healthy meal.

9. Keep The Meal Environment Distraction-Free

More and more, I hear of children who cannot eat unless they have a TV on, a toy at the table, or some other distraction tactic.

Distractions do not help your child tune in to their appetite and regulate their eating. 

In fact, it does the opposite, encouraging children to be out of touch with their appetite cues, and be more rigid about the table environment and food.

No toys, no TV, no digital companion. Just good old-fashioned person-to-person talking and interaction.

10. Honor Food Preferences But Don’t Cater

Research tells us that catering to a child’s food preferences (or wants and desires) strengthens them. 

To prevent picky eating, avoid meeting specific food requests at meals. It’s okay to offer food your child enjoys, but don’t make the entire meal about “what your child will eat.”

This is tied to another big mistake I see parents of picky eaters make, which is asking their child what they would like to eat.

What would you like for breakfast?

What do you want to eat for snack time?

Parents transfer control when they ask their child open-ended questions about food. This may work against a child’s willingness to try new food.

Instead, I like to give kids a choice between two things. Banana or apple? Crackers or pita? Cheese or yogurt?

It’s a simple and strategic approach, and it allows kids to make the decision, which helps them feel empowered. 

11. Don’t React To Picky Eating

Many kids go through picky eating, especially during the toddler years. When your child does show signs of picky eating, if you get upset, yell, threaten, punish, or demonstrate any other emotional reaction to them, you’ll add fuel to the fire… or potentially damage you and your child’s relationship.

Your best reaction is no reaction at all.

I know this is hard. It might feel like not reacting is giving in to your child

The worst-case scenario: You push or pressure your child to eat, force your child to take more bites, bargain with dessert or reward your child for eating something new.

These feeding tactics don’t work and complicate the picture, making many kids more reluctant to eat new foods.

12. Enjoy Food And Feeding

Showing your child a love of food, eating enjoyment, and connecting during meals conveys a positive vibe and it’s one of the most important things you can do as a parent. This goes a long way in reducing struggle and strife at the table.

While feeding your child may not be your all-time favorite thing to do, you must do it, so why not make it as enjoyable as possible for all?

When you’re at your best, you’ve got a better chance at raising a good eater — and that’s the mission we are all on.

Send Me The Do’s & Dont’s of Picky Eating!

How to Prevent Picky Eating in Kids

Use these tips as a daily reminder to prevent picky eating behaviors so your family can enjoy family meals together as your child grows into a fearless eater. 

The key is to start when your child is very young and to be consistent. 

Resources

• If you’re already dealing with a picky eater, or see the emerging signs in your little one, get my book, Try New Food: How to Help Picky Eaters Taste, Eat & Like New Foods. It will help you navigate this tricky stage (and avoid making it worse!)
• Why Picky Eaters Love White Foods
• How to Prevent Picky Eating with Flavor Training for Babies 
• Be sure to check out The Ultimate Guide to Feeding the Picky Eater!