Do you have a picky eater in your household?
Maybe it’s you!
CNN reports on a recent study in the journal “Pediatrics” that parents may be to blame…but not in the way you might think.
Researchers found that kids were less likely to grow out of their picky eating habits if their parents were strict with things like cleaning their plate and eating certain foods because it creates thousands of negative experiences surrounding those foods.
They also discovered that even rewarding them can backfire…for example, telling kids they can have ice cream if they finish their broccoli can actually make them hate broccoli more.
So what’s a parent to do?
They suggest creating pleasant experiences with foods kids won’t eat like having them help you make broccoli or showing them how much you like it.
If you don’t force it on them, they might come around.
Also some kids need to be exposed to a new food 12 times before they’ll soften up to it but that’s not always eating it…just watching you eat or cook it can be enough.
How do you get your kids to try new things?
