Try New Foods

We typically try not to label our kids as "good eaters" or "bad eaters" or things like that. However, Caleb is easily our pickiest eater. I do think that kids go through phases and that it's important to honor that, like how Lydia doesn't always like the texture of meat and sometimes goes through vegetarian phases. I think it's important to honor kids, validate their feelings, and not make dinnertime a battleground. We have a standing rule in our house that if you don't want to eat dinner, you can choose to eat oatmeal instead. All the kids will eat oatmeal, but it's not exciting enough to ditch a normal dinner. Then we don't have to fight a battle that may end with someone going to bed hungry. 

That being said, Caleb is getting pretty set in his ways and won't even try the food that I make for dinner saying instead. "I don't like that - can I have some oatmeal?" He eats oatmeal 5-7 nights of the week, even though the things I am making for dinner are things that I think he would like if he tried them! To add to the issue, Lucy has started to mimic Caleb, refusing to eat things because he won't eat them. 

So even though I know you're not supposed to bribe your kids at dinnertime, we've decided to implement a "Try New Foods" plan. We first talked to Austin and Lydia and expressed how grateful we were that they eat the dinner that is prepared for them and what good examples they are. David then took them to the store and let them pick any treat that they wanted. Then, we talked to Caleb and Lucy and presented the option that they had to participate in. For any meal that they tried 4 bites of dinner, they could get a ticket. Once they got 10 tickets we would take them to the gas station and let them pick a treat. Lucy is collecting puff balls and Caleb gets tickets. 

It's been reasonably successful, although more successful for Lucy than for Caleb. We are still trying to make it a low-stress, low-pressure environment while giving him some incentive to try new things. I hope that as we steadily get him to try new things, his palate will expand and he will eat a larger variety of foods. 

(Lucy's "Try New Foods" prize.)