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Picky Eaters

Tips on Pleasing Picky Toddler Palates

By Carma Haley Shoemaker

Children begin their lives with parents deciding their food choice, either breast milk or formula. Once children are old enough, parents slowly add solid foods to their children's diet. Parents want to ensure that their children grow up healthy and strong aided by a proper diet with nutritious food every day. Sometimes, toddlers don't share in their parents' plans.

Toddlers are often finicky or picky eaters. The variety of foods they consume may be very limited. They may find something they like and demand this food item daily or perhaps in place of every meal. Picky eaters can cause their parents much stress; frequently parents fear their toddlers are barely taking in enough food to sustain life, let alone provide an adequate source of nutrition.

"My 2-year-old will eat nothing but Cheerios from the time she gets up until her Daddy gets home from work, and I do mean nothing," says Wendy Euchre, a mom from Richmond, Va. "She will drink milk, water and juice, but will not eat any other food but dry, out-of-the-box Cheerios. I've tried everything but she won't budge from the Cheerios. So, to avoid a major war, we buy tons of Cheerios knowing that none will be wasted."

The choices the picky toddler makes are frequently a matter of will. When a toddler refuses food, he is not refusing to eat – he is simply conveying a message, 'I want to decide,'" says Martha Pieper, co-author of Smart Love and a columnist for Chicago Parent magazine. "Children 2 to 5 years old are learning to be independent. They are learning what they like and don't like and making choices based on these things. They can tell you what they think, feel and want. That's one of the main reasons toddlers refuse food or become picky eaters: They want to decide for themselves."

Want to see more?

• Toddler Nutrition: Building a Healthy Relationship with Food
• The Challenge of Feeding Your Toddler
• How do we meet our toddler's nutritional needs when he's so picky?
• Join the discussion on our Family.com community!
• Take a Dip! Mealtime Options for Toddlers
• Toddlers That Just Won't Eat: Handling Picky Eaters, Light Eaters and Appetite Slumps

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