Episode 23: Feeding a Picky Eater? 5 Strategies to Make Mealtime Easier
Karla Moreno-Bryce: Hey there, I’m so glad you’re tuning in today because I’m sharing some tips on what you can do if your baby or child is refusing to eat foods.
This episode comes from my newsletter that I published February of 2024. And I like to share popular newsletters a few weeks or months later here on the podcast to not only bring you the support you need in feeding your plant-based kids or vegan kids but also to give you a glimpse of what type of content, stories, and nutritional tips you get inside the PLANTiful newsletter. So, if you enjoy today’s podcast, I invite you to join my email list and I’ll share a link to that in the show notes.
Now before we start, I would really appreciate if you can share this podcast to other friends, caregivers, or anyone else you come across that would like to learn more about a vegan feeding journey. Together I’d like to reach as many people as we can so we can bring support and awareness about raising vegan kids.
Okay, now let me ask you this: has your vegan child ever refused a food or a meal? Chances are they might and perhaps you’ve felt worried. Worried that they might not be meeting their nutrient needs. Worried that you’re not doing enough. And perhaps even unsure about what to do next, should you offer them something else or try to get them to try that food.
I know it’s hard, I’ve experienced similar situations with both my daughters. Refusing to eat a food is common for growing children at all ages, particularly during toddlerhood as it’s a developmental stage where they seek independence. They’re learning that they’re their own person so they want to have more control over their food intake and food choices.
Today, I want to share a few things you can do to help you during this time period when your child refuses to eat but first, I want to share the story that motivated me to talk about this topic.
A parent sent me a message on Instagram feeling panicked about their child’s intake. I’m going to call this parent Beth.
Here’s what Beth asked:
“My child won’t starve right? I’m just so scared she doesn’t eat enough but if she’s hungry she’ll ask right?”
Beth had shared her daughter was a picky eater and was refusing some foods that were previously favorites. She began to feel concerned her daughter wasn’t eating enough as a result of becoming more selective with their food.
Beth’s fear in her child not eating was rooted in her desire to ensure her daughter’s nutritional needs were met. With her daughter refusing to eat and showing a lack of interest in food, she felt worried about potential nutritional deficiencies that could affect her daughter’s overall growth and development.
But on a deeper level, Beth was feeling uncertainty and confused about what to do to help her situation. She was struggling whether to accept the amount her daughter ate or let her ask for food when hungry.
I shared with Beth that the amount of food her daughter eats is unique to her. And that sometimes we as adults perceive a certain portion size to be “enough” for our kids, overlooking that our kids know best about what is “enough” for them. We believe that our kids should eat certain portions or amounts depending on their body size, age, or movement but the truth is that these aren’t always reliable ways to measure how much our child should be eating.
There are certain situations and developmental stages in childhood when a child cannot advocate for themselves to tell you they're hungry. As parents, it’s our responsibility to be their leader when it comes to food.
Here are a few things you can do:
Have structured meals. This is something I emphasize inside the Vegan Kids Nutrition Blueprint course because it’s part of the foundation for ensuring we support proper growth and development for our vegan kids. When children have structured meals, there’s predictability in their routine. And when there’s predictability, they’re more likely to be able to recognize hunger and regulate their intake. Ultimately, this leads to having positive eating habits.
Avoid pressuring to eat. When a child refuses to eat, it’s not always because they don’t like the food served. Sometimes it’s because they don't want to come to the table, fearing they may be pressured to eat certain foods or a certain portion size. Pressuring your vegan child to eat something they don’t feel ready to do yet can cause more eating challenges, for you and your child.
Observe their intake. Assess over a period of time how much your vegan child eats to get a better sense of what their usual intake is like, keeping in mind that fluctuations in intake is typical at all ages. One meal or one day doesn’t give a good perspective of whether your child is eating “enough” to meet their nutritional needs.
Offer favorite condiments. If your child is refusing to eat certain foods, it’s OK to offer their favorite condiments as part of that meal—even if it doesn't seem like it pairs well with the meal. When my oldest was refusing tofu for a while, I offered ketchup with the meal. To this day, she still eats tofu with ketchup.
Seek support for resistant eaters. Picky eating can be developmentally normal at certain periods in childhood and most of the time, they won’t starve themselves when the appropriate feeding approach is taken. However, if your child is resistant to food or has certain sensory sensitivities to textures, aromas, or flavors, these kids have a hard time accepting food. And this is when help from a provider, occupational therapist or dietitian specializing in extreme picky eating is helpful.
Alright, I hope you found these tips helpful in knowing what to do and what to implement at home to help your vegan kids through food refusal. I believe in you. And if you enjoyed this style of content, I invite you to join my email list. Again, this podcast episode was taken from my newsletter that is sent on the first Tuesday of every month. It’s the place where I share more behind-the-scenes stories in helping myself or other parents feed their children and exclusive nutritional tips so you can feel confident as a vegan parent. You can join with the link in the show notes. Alright, I’ll talk to you in the next episode. Bye for now.