Episode 008: Frequently Asked Questions about Picky Eating with an Expert (…Me!)

Picky eating has always been a tricky challenge for parents, but did you know it’s been getting worse in the last few decades and particularly since the stress of the pandemic?

Parents are frustrated and not sure what to do, partly because the root cause of picky eating is often not even in the food itself.

I’ve been teaching kids to cook for eight years and realized that what parents need most isn’t the cooking (at least they don’t think they do), but the eating part. I started using my background as an elementary educator and mom of 4 to tackle the picky eating problem, and people had a lot of success with my suggestions.

Then I was trained a few years ago by an incredible picky eating expert, Dr. Kay Toomey, and I learned even more, especially about root causes. It’s my honor to work with parents on a regular basis to reduce the stress at their kitchen tables and help their kids build a great relationship with food.

My P.E.P. Club (Picky Eating Playbook) membership includes plenty of opportunities for Q&A, and I thought it might be interesting to give you a peek into some popular Qs about picky eating today.

Katie will be interviewing…Katie. Ha!

Hope you enjoy learning about:

• strategies for getting a child to drink more
• promoting family unity at mealtime
• dealing with kids who change their minds about food
• handling junk food at other people’s houses
• motivating kids to come to the table
• and helping kids get more comfortable with foods

Can’t see the video? Watch Q&A about Picky Eating on YouTube here.

Zoom to what you want to find with time stamps. These time stamps align to the audio podcast and not the video, although they will be close.

Picky Eating FAQs Time Stamps

• 0:18 The No More Picky Eating Challenge has served between 10 and 20,000 families over the last few years. (We aren’t sure exactly how many repeat guests we have!) You can sign up for the challenge right here.
• 0:48 Lowering stress for parents and kids is the goal, and 85% of the challenge participants report less stress at the dinner table within 5 days!

 

 

Helping Our Kids Stay Hydrated

• 2:50 The first question is about hydration. How important is it? How do we get kids to drink more?
• 3:24 Hydration is important, because not having enough liquid can cause constipation. But remember there IS hydration in all watery things, including fruits, vegetables, broths.

• 4:40 One strategy is to serve more hydrating liquids. Try this Homemade Smart Water or Homemade Electrolyte Drink.

Replace Short-Order Cooking with Team One Meal

• 6:07 Short-order cooking is hard on parents and doesn’t give kids the right message. How do we get rid of it?
• 7:08 What do we do when family members eat mostly different things, whether it’s because of chosen diet or allergies or restrictions?
• 8:06 Team One Meal doesn’t mean everyone’s plate looks the same.
• 9:05 Example of a Kimball family meal that serves family members who are dairy-free and on keto.
• 10:30 How I work around having a child who eats dairy-free. 

The Mind-Changer

• 11:59 What to do with a child who changes their mind all the time – will eat something one day but not the next?

• 12:52 Highly sensitive kids and those with some sensory processing sensitivities may just be listening in to what their bodies need. 
• 14:00 Balancing division of responsibility with kids being flighty, stubborn, or testing boundaries.
• 14:52 Offering choices at breakfast and lunch.
• 15:45 Grab the free knife skills class right here!

“A child running the show is an anxious child.” – Katie Kimball

The Grandparent Factor: Eating at Other People’s Houses

• 19:07 How do I go about addressing food when sending my child to someone else’s house, when I know they don’t eat like we do or have boundaries at all?
• 19:48 How to have a conversation about food in this situation.

• 20:38 Sending your own food or talking to your older children about the food.
• 22:02 Total restriction creates desire, and a lot of kids will go haywire as soon as they can make their own choices.

Getting Kids to Come to the Table

• 23:07 This is a parenting issue disguised as a food issue. Here’s one strategy for tackling the issue.

“Food and parenting are so intertwined, and there’s never a perfect answer.” – Katie Kimball

Building a Healthy Relationship with Food

• 25:21 What to do when kids are tasting foods but spitting them right back out.
• 25:46 The goal is to build a healthy relationship with food, but it’s a process. You gotta keep your Poker Face on.
• 27:36 Who should join the No More Picky Eating Challenge?

Picky Eating Resources We Mentioned Today

• Register for the No More Picky Eating Challenge today!
• Homemade Smart Water and Homemade Electrolyte Drink
• What is a highly sensitive person?
• Check out the free knife skills class
• I let my real-food kids try soda pop. See what they thought!