Parents Who Focus Less on Picky Eating Habits Could Encourage Fruit and Veggie Intake in Kids
For parents of picky eaters, mealtimes often turn into battles, and parents may despair that they'll ever be able to convince their children to eat a wider variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables. To get your child to eat more types of food, forget nagging or bribes - dish up plenty of fruit and veggie servings for yourself, say researchers from the Pennsylvania State University in University Park who studied the dietary patterns of a group of girls and their moms.
In the study, 173 9-year-old girls and their moms completed surveys when the girls were 7 and 9 years old. When their daughters were 7, the moms recorded their own food intake, including how many fruit and vegetable servings they usually ate each day. The mothers also noted to what extent they pressured their daughters to eat by agreeing or disagreeing with statements like, "My child should always eat all of the food on her plate," and "If my child says 'I'm not hungry,' I try to get her to eat anyway."
When the girls were 9, mothers recorded the types and amounts of foods their daughters ate for three 24-hour periods. Moms also noted whether they thought their daughters were picky eaters. At 9 years of age, the girls in the study were also weighed, measured, and underwent body fat testing.
The results? Moms who ate more servings of fruits and vegetables said they were less likely to pressure their daughters to eat. In addition, these moms had daughters who ate more fruits and vegetables and who were considered less picky overall. In contrast, perceived picky eaters ate fewer servings of fruits and vegetables (although they also ate fewer fats and sweets).
Most of the girls in the study, though, didn't get the recommended amount of fiber, and their intake of calcium, vitamin E, and magnesium typically fell below the recommended levels. Girls who ate more fruits and vegetables took in significantly more fiber than picky eaters.
What This Means to You: According to the results of this study, the nutritional example you set for your child may affect his or her eating habits. Eating lots of fruit and vegetable servings yourself may encourage your child to eat these foods, too. How many servings should your child be consuming each day? Ensure your child eats plenty of produce by offering three to five vegetable servings and two to four fruit servings daily.
Source: Amy T. Galloway, PhD; Laura Fiorito, RD; Yoonna Lee, PhD; Leann L. Birch, PhD; Journal of the American Dietetic Association, April 2005
Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: May 2005
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
© 1995-2008 The Nemours Foundation. All rights reserved.
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
© 1995-2008 The Nemours Foundation. All rights reserved.
Take an action
- this article with friends and family.
- Have a question about Helping a Picky Eater? Ask it here.
- Publish your work on education.com.
Add your own comment
Have a question?
To share your personal experience or ask advice from our community, please start a discussionGreat Gift Ideas
to help build your child’s brain, and they’re chock full of fun! Browse Our Recommendations.
- How to Raise a Silver Palate
- Grooming Green Thumbs (and Green Eaters!)
- Nutrition in Children Six Years and Older
- Get Kids off the Couch and Into the Kitchen
- Parents Who Focus Less on Picky Eating Habits Could Encourage Fruit and Veggie Intake in Kids
- How Should I Deal With a Picky Eater?
- Together… Let’s Try New Foods!
- Snack Smart Food List
- Healthy Eating for Kids and Teens:
- Legislators Fail to Put Schools on a Diet
Comments from readers
My husband and I LOVE to eat healthy foods. (I am not saying we don't also like our less healthy food/snacks) but at meal times, I cook lean meats panfried, baked, grilled and broiled, salad or veges and a starch...sometimes a crock concoctions, or stirfry, pasta recipe, chili, burgers..basically that's it in general. They will eat none of this willingly.
I have to say reading this article that none of the advice above, or for that matter, any advice given about picky eaters seems to help change the situation. I'm not sure what I can do?! Even though my kids have always had plenty of exposure to healthy foods since they were born and ate very well until they were both 2, they have NEVER naturally liked meat - deli or cooked, most fruits or any vegetables except corn.
I vary meals. They ALWAYS include veges. I have tried introdicing the same ones every night and trying new ways of preparing them (even honey doesn't work). To avoid "issues" I will subsitute fruit for veges on advice from a few picky eater books but then they get sick of the fruit and won't take it in their lunch.
While I think we have been patient with the notion that they will eventually broaden their palette, I have to admit, I'm not sure what I am doing is at all effective. We are not talking toddlers anymore...so, for example, my ped and friends would often tell me that it was a "phase" for the first 3 or 4 years.
If it was up to my kids, they would have pasta with butter (brummel and brown at home) and parmesan, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza with no cheese or rice for dinner every night. With juice, water or chocolate milk for a drink.
They don't like meat (I have some success with a "goldfish chicken nuggets" meal I made up = Fresh chicken with crushed whole grain goldfish and parmesan dipped in milk, baked as nuggets. *I* can only stomach it 1 time a week, however. ) I've tried having them make meals with me...this really only works if it is a DESSERT which I only make with a purpose. Guests, a party, .a treat for good behavior...or else, I will eat it. They like to crack eggs and stir mixtures, but put raw meat or veges in the mix and forget it. They want nothing to do with it. I do not have these hang ups and while I CAN say that I do have family members who STILL (as grown ups) do, I'm wondering if it could really be a genetic thing or if I am just "not getting it". I know I had a bland pallate too as a kid, but that changed as I got older and I have absolutely NO hang ups and a pretty healthy appetite as does my husband although he does have acid reflux which makes some things hard for him to eat but usually he eats what I cook.
My parents (for a little background) were the type that we had to choose how much we would eat and then sit there and eat all of it. But I do not do that. I just tell them if they want dessert, they have to have 3 bites of each thing on their plate. I think my parents had less patience and disciplined us differently all around, but I really try to make meal times pleasant and I remember mealtimes being mostly pleasant....except when we had "stringy meat" or cube steak...YUCK!
I am at the end of my rope with this. They like NO sauce, not ranch, cheese, red of any kind anything sweet...honey, asian sweet/sour. They don't even want to TRY it. If they do it's ONLY for dessert. I have tried a few approaches....But it is not without a lot of angst.
Hopefully, I've given you enough to work with. Is it time for a nutritionist? Do I just need more patience? Are my kids from another planet??????????????????
Please help!! The truth is, it is stressful and I need to enjoy dinner time and my husband is usually just walking in the door to hear all of this which doesn't bother him but means I can't give him much deserved love when he arrives after a long hard day!