One observation about picky eating is that it’s a form of oppositional behavior.
Just like kids who don’t want to go to bed when you tell them to go to bed ... one of the ways that children benefit from oppositional behavior is that they get attention.
So, with very young children, one of the best things you can do if they don’t want to eat something is say ‘Good, more for me’, and take it and eat it ... .
With older kids this might not exactly work, but in general if you show that you value food and that you’re interested in food and you expose your children to a wide variety of foods that you yourself enjoy, they are more likely to turn out to be good eaters.
Marcia Levin Pelchat, PhD
Monell Chemical Senses Center
Sensory scientist
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