Encourage Picky Eaters to Branch Out With This Feeding Therapist’s Tip

Despite your best efforts picky eating habits are likely to crop up as your toddler turns 2. All of the sudden old favorites go out the window or become fixations. But before you lose your mind trying to find something that your little one will eat beyond fruit snacks consider this simple perspective and power-shifting advice.

In a now viral post, feeding therapist and mom to two toddlers Cassidy Anderson gives her number one tip for getting picky eaters to expand their horizons—and it all starts with expanding beyond their plate.

“If your baby, toddler, or even big kid is refusing food…[do] not put everything you are offering them on their plates,” Anderson says in the video. “ What you’re going to do instead is put one thing on their plate and serve the rest of the things on the menu family style. This can be a fruit; this can be a vegetable; this can be a main; whatever you want, put it in a big bowl, serve it at the center of the table and your kid’s interest will [pique] right away.”

Anderson explains that the power of this simple change lies in letting kid’s exert some control over mealtime. “Kids love control, even more so when it comes to their food, so setting yourself up for success by offering things family style will make them so much more interested in trying new things or just eating something they’ve eaten before, served a different way,” Anderson explains. “It is such a simple switch, but stop putting everything on your [kid’s] plate and let them choose from items in the middle.”

In the comments parents thanked Anderson for the simple hack and also shared a little humor around their picky eaters. “Just eat whatever you want your toddler to eat and they’ll take it from you,” joked one mom. “Literally just did this tonight. Was the most positive dinner time we’ve had with our 2 year old in ages,” added another parent. “I put down an empty plate and we go around asking each other what we’d like from what’s on the table,” suggested another.

Surviving the picky eater stage isn’t easy, and as with most things different ideas work for different kids. If you are looking for more tricks, check out these tips from pediatric feeding specialists and registered dietitians on how to deal with picky eaters.