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Picky Eaters
I’ve heard from literally 1000s of parents over the years about their challenges at the dinner table, and I’ve distilled it down to the essential habits your household needs to begin to solve the picky eating frustrations.
Is It Picky Eating or ARFID? Signs Your Child Needs More Help
There is average picky eating … and then there are the more extreme cases.
Our guest today, Jessica Bodie, PhD, is a psychologist who works with these kids – including her own.
ARFID is Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, and its treatment goes way beyond what I discuss in The Picky Eater Playbook and the No More Picky Eating Challenge. I’m so glad Jessica was able to come and share more about treatment for ARFID with us.
We chatted about:
- the reason doctors might look at a growth chart and ignore a parent’s concerns about eating
- what Jessica has done with her own son when it comes to his restrictive eating
- how ARFID is different than normal picky eating
- the strategies I would suggest AGAINST for average picky eaters that Jessica uses
- how being uncomfortable might have to be part of becoming more comfortable with food
Listen in now, and check out part 2 when it releases on Thursday!
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3 Habits Shifts to Help Your Picky Eater
Sometimes we just need a little mental shift, a small piece of knowledge, an encouragement to break a habit, or a new perspective.
That’s my goal today!
I want to break into the day-to-day habits that might not be serving your kids and help you make a SHIFT – either in your thinking, your dinner routine, or your language.
I challenge you to set one tiny goal for your dinner table after listening, in one of these 3 areas:
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- Screens
- Empathy/Understanding
- Starting the Meal
Here’s to small changes making a big impact—just like we do in the No More Picky Eating Challenge!
You’ll learn new routines, pattern interruptions, and way more. And if you’re a reader or like to refer back to information time and again, grab a copy of The Picky Eater Playbook, my new book!
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Picky Eating: 4 Possible Cultural Root Causes (& Prevention Strategies)
I was asked a question on a podcast interview the other day that I’ve never been asked before – “WHY are there so many picky eaters these days?”
It really does feel like it’s an epidemic, far different than our childhood.
What gives? I have 4 theories as to the underpinnings, and those lend a hand to create a playbook to avoid picky eating in your own kids if they’re young enough to circumvent bad habits.
That’s GREAT news with MUCH hope!
I’m going to be unpacking a lot of habits, expectations, and attitudes that can banish picky eating power struggles from your mealtimes during the FREE 5-day No More Picky Eating Challenge. We’ve had thousands of families go through the challenge, committing to making one small change each day so that they never again have to say, “I just want my kids to eat what I make!”
It has to be said of course that there are many biological root causes to picky eating too, and we’ll dip our toe into that during the challenge as well.
Or if you’re more of a reader—or have done the challenge before and want the information at your fingertips!—you can pre-order my book The Picky Eater Playbook. Along with all the strategies from the challenge, you also get all kinds of stories and examples from my family and other families I’ve worked with.
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Why We Should Stop Thinking About Nutrition and Build Our Kids’ Eating Habits Instead
Dina Rose, PhD, is our guest today on feeding our kids healthily, and she says she’s not actually against the lollipop at the doctor’s…(insert shock here?)…BUT she still would take it away from her crying daughter!
Why? She has a real issue with dealing with emotion through food, and we talk about that today in this incredible interview that will push your boundaries (and change the way food looks in your house if you listen well).
Here’s just a bit of what you’ll learn:
- Why the discussion about healthy eating isn’t just about healthy food but about why, when, where, and how much you eat.
- Why parents who KNOW they shouldn’t bribe their kids with food or make them clear their plates often do it anyway (and how to reform).
- She calls sugar the USDA’s crazy old aunt that they’re hiding in the attic and not talking about. I love it!
- Do you use the words “balance” when you talk about food? Dina tells us to ditch that term for 3 simple habits: variety, proportion and moderation. But don’t miss her definitions, because “moderation” probably isn’t what you think.
- Yes, we should actually have a cookie on there if the “MyPlate” image was to be improved.
- How what we feed our kids trains their taste buds, and how to make sure we present foods in their proper “categories” to train our kids’ HABITS.
- Why we shouldn’t feed our kids every time they say they’re hungry. It’s about fear, and it’s GREAT advice!
- Got a picky eater who won’t let you serve healthy food? Dina has a whole process for you, too, and it’s NOT about eating.
Why I Stopped Using the “No Thank You Bite”
Have you ever given parenting advice with total confidence…only to learn a few years later that you had it completely wrong?
I have.
After 21 years of feeding kids, 17 years of writing about healthy families, and a whole lot of conversations with picky eating experts, there are a few things I used to teach that I simply don’t anymore.
And I think it’s important to talk about them.
In this episode, I’m sharing some of the biggest changes I’ve made in my picky eating philosophy—and why learning more sometimes means being willing to do a complete 180. We’re digging into two especially common feeding practices: requiring kids to take a “no thank you bite” and making dessert something they have to earn by eating enough dinner.
You’ll hear:
- Why I no longer recommend requiring even one bite of a new food
- The simple phrase that can take an enormous amount of pressure off picky eaters
- Why making dessert a reward may accidentally make it even more desirable
- How our family shifted from “eat enough dinner to get dessert” to choice within boundaries
- Why there probably isn’t one perfect dessert rule that works for every child and every family
And we’re only halfway through my list!
This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. In Part 2, I’ll share the rest of the major picky eating philosophies I’ve changed my mind about, including a powerful story of one child’s transformation and more of what I’ve learned while writing The Picky Eater Playbook.
If you’ve ever wondered whether the feeding advice you’ve heard (or even followed for years!) is actually helping your child build a healthy relationship with food, this conversation is for you.
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Troubleshoot Your Child’s Poor Digestion
What if I told you you might have to throw away half of the healthy food you worked so hard to put on the dinner table?
What if I told you that can basically happen AFTER your kids eat everything on their plate?!?!
Healthy food is only the first part of being nourished—we need to make sure the entire system of digestion is working correctly for all the hard work to count! mind blown
Today I get to talk to Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Tara Hnkin about getting your child’s digestion on “tract” (pun! ha!) for optimal health. Whether your child feels anxious or exhibits signs of ADHD, whether you know they’re constipated, they have some diarrhea or even are very regular, it’s so important to be educated as parents so we know what to look for…in our child’s poop!
Here are just some of the gems we cover today:
- Why parents need to be their children’s health advocate and never take “there’s nothing we can do” for an answer
- Why even with great nutrition, your kids might be struggling with their health (allergies, eczema, constipation, diarrhea, ADHD, and more!)
- What to look for to know if your child might struggle with digestion (colic and acid reflux in babies is only the beginning)
- What “growing pains” might really mean!
- How picky eating is sometimes caused by poor digestion (especially meat aversion or carb/comfort food cravings)
- The convicting news (for me at least) about HOW we serve a meal being more important than WHAT we serve
- Easy ways to kickstart good digestion just before a meal
- The best alternative to testing your child’s stool or urine (that doesn’t cost anything)
- Why the special diet you tried may not have worked the way you wanted for your child’s health
Tara is so wise and experienced, and I cannot wait to hear from you about what you learn from her! Parents, education is the first step toward giving our kids what they need. Let’s get educated about digestion today!
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Ask Me Anything: Picky Eating, Screen Time, and Intentional Choices
Ever wonder how to handle picky eating at parties without creating food battles? Or how to set healthy screen time boundaries when screens feel like the only babysitter?
In this Ask Me Anything episode of the Healthy Parenting Handbook podcast, I’m answering your real-life parenting questions about dessert rules for kids, the Division of Responsibility in feeding, raising independent children, and building healthy family habits that actually stick.
We’re talking about practical strategies for limiting screen time for toddlers and young kids, alternatives to screen time that encourage creativity, and how involving kids in chores builds responsibility and executive functioning. I’m also sharing how to create a real food family culture without labeling foods as “bad,” how to monitor sugar and food dyes without being extreme, and how to gradually pass ownership of health to your kids so they can make wise choices when no one is watching.
If you want less pressure around food, more confidence in your parenting decisions, and a clear path toward raising healthy, independent future adults, this episode is for you!
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Quick Change Tastebuds, Slow Biology, & Why Gut Health May Impact Picky Eating
Did you know that picky eating can sometimes be caused by the messages the bacteria in your gut are sending to your brain?
So the CHILD isn’t being a sugar monster…or making stubborn choices just to drive you crazy…their gut bugs are the sugar monsters and their brain has pruned too much!
I learned so much from Elissa Arnheim in this interview, both the philosophical to feed MY brain and the practical—some of which I implemented that very day!
Here are my favorite quotes:
- “Let’s start with this: Our bodies are designed perfectly.”
- “If a child cuts out an entire category of healthy foods, it’s a sign that something is wrong – and it’s all figure-out-able and fixable.”
- “Step 1 for sugar monster kids: serve sauerkraut!” 😮 (Don’t worry, Elissa shares multiple ways to make that a reality in your family…because I thought the same as you! My kids would never…!)
- “Resilience comes from diversity – both inside and outside our bodies.”
- “Risk to probiotic use = monoculture in our guts.”
And so, so much more! Pretty much if there are human beings in your family, you need this info too. 😉
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Episode 93: Eating Disorders Expert & Dietitian on How to Foster a Healthy Relationship with Food for Your Kids
The very morning I did this interview, my husband was complaining about how badly he felt because of a certain number…and when I heard Heidi’s final “practical” challenge to parents, I knew we had to do it. This interview was a HUGE paradigm shift for me, and you will alternately want to turn it off...
Episode 83: Why Feeding Therapy Can Backfire—Insights from Picky-Eating MD Dr. Katja Rowell
You’ve heard the figure that most MDs get less than 10-20 hours of nutrition and food training in medical school, and Dr. Katja Rowell (MD!) thinks this is a tragedy. Worse, she says, is that pediatricians and family doctors aren’t trained at all in HOW kids learn to eat, and many of them help families...