​Thank you again for sticking with me on this really important series. I am sure if you are on session 4 of this series, its because you are feeling me when it comes to the discussion of picky eaters in your home.  Session one we looked at what picky eating was, and when it is time to be concerned.  Session 2, I shared my TOP mom and Nutritionist strategies with you, and in session 3 I shared some tools you can print off and start using at home.
 
Session Four is about how mom and dad are handling picky eating at home. I Feel I need to take a moment to acknowledge that I am in now way a mental health expert. I am however a mom of 4 children, one of whom has food behaviour problems with sever picky eating.  I am also a nutritionist, who has worked with hundreds (if not thousands ) of families who have faced picky eating at home for more than 14 years! Experience is my friend here.

You may or may not agree with me, and I am ok with that. I do however want to share how we manage it at home and how many of my clients have found success at home.
 
So here we go, how to use a little tough love for picky eaters.

We are back for part 3!! How amazing is all this information we have been sharing together!! I am so honoured you have made it to session 3 of this series.

In this part I am going to GIFT you with some tools to simplify the healthy eating process.
Click Below for my Likes and Fav Meals charts.
These two forms will help you grow a list with your child focusing on the foods they actually want to eat.  

Likes List~ The goal is to add foods to all sections and to be praised when new healthy foods get added. Sit with your child and add as many items that they know they like to the lists.  Once you have completed the list, post one or both on the fridge, making it a goal to be adding a couple new foods to the list each week. Be sure to offer lots of praise as new healthy foods are added!
 
Fav Meals Chart~ The goal of this chart is to add all existing meals your child likes and add new ones as they try them.  Most children love being able to add meals to their list, and it helps moms and dads with planning. As with the LIKES LISTS be sure to offer lots of praise for new meals that get added. I enjoy going through healthy cookbooks with my children looking at new recipes they can choose and we try together!

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Meal Planning Forms
Check out this how to article on how to create a family meal plan and download the meal planning forms! Here you can print off and plan not only your weekly menu, BUT also your grocery list to match it each week.  If planning your family menu feels overwhelming, be sure to read the article linked below that shares 7 Steps to Healthy Meal Planning!

Welcome back to my series on how to overcome picky eating at in your home!! Part Two. This part of my four part series is going to jump right into strategies for those picky eaters at home.  Now keep in mind what works for one may not work for another and you may find that you have to circle back to one a few times.  BUT forward movements with picky eaters are forward movement!
 
The Strategies!

1. Create a "Like’s List" you are constantly adding to with your child.  This is a list that goes on the fridge and there is positive enforcement around new adds!  I have one I use at home you can download in session 3 of this series.

2. Plan Meals together, especially dinner!! Allowing your child input into the family’s menu will help to reduce stubbornness around meals.  I find it useful for families with picky eaters to have a favourite meal list on the fridge, so they can remember all of the things they do like to eat.  

I am so excited to be sharing this series with you on picky eating at home.  As a Nutritionist I have worked with dozens of families with real concerns about picky eaters in their homes.  And in many cases, it is a serious concern! I am also a mom of 4 children, 1 of whom has always been a picky eater, to the point that he will starve over eating what has been prepared.  This is a real problem for a lot of families and in this series I will cover strategies you can use to help overcome this in your home.

This part is about identifying what a picky eater is, and when its time to be concerned from a nutritional stand point.

So what does picky eating look like? Well if you have one at home, you don't need my description of it! But here it is from a Nutritionist standpoint. Picky eating in children is when there is a flat out refusal to eat a variety of natural and nutrient dense foods.  Taste, smell and texture often play a role for many children who are picky eaters, but so can colour and appearance. The concern with serious picky eaters is not only malnutrition, but in many cases an overconsumption of processed foods.
 
Here is what you need to know about the above reasons your child is feeling resistant to eating foods based on these criteria.  They are true in your child’s mind!