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So You Have a Picky Eater

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TIP: NOTICE THE EXCEPTIONS. Call attention to the times when Jamie eats most of her meal. "Wow! Jamie you ate everything on your plate. Good job. You should be proud of yourself." Too often, we only notice the negative aspects of our children's behavior and that is what we reinforce with our negative attention.

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TIP: CATER TO JAMIE'S DESIRE TO BE "BIG". "You probably won't like this halibut Jamie. Usually, adults are the only ones who like halibut." Guess what may just become Jamie's new favorite food?

TIP: PROVIDE VARIOUS CHOICES AROUND MEALTIME. "Would you rather sit by me or by mommy?" "You can eat with a fork or a spoon; which would you prefer?" "Do you think you will need more potatoes or is that enough?" "Have as much as you think you will need to make it to dinner." "Milk or juice?" "Should we eat at 7:00 or 7:30?"

TIP: BE A GOOD ROLE MODEL. "You know dear, although spaghetti is not my favorite, I will eat it because I know how hard you worked to make it." TIP: EXPOSURE. Encourage Jamie to try a variety of foods early on in her life before she knows any different. Some children may have never thought liver was gross if it hadn't been for what someone else had set their expectation to be.

TIP: PROVIDE SOME FLEXIBILITY. Let's remember there are some foods that certain children just can not stomach. If Jamie has a problem with spinach but it is part of that particular meal, try to have other items that she can get her fill up on once everyone has their share. However, this should be the exception rather than the rule.