Picky eaters can wage a nasty battle with even the most patient and understanding parent. Fortunately, getting your child to eat healthy and nutritious foods doesn’t have to be painful. Here’s what you need to know about your fussy eater and how to get them to take more than just one bite.

Normal kid or picky eater?

Like it or not, most toddlers would rather eat a slice of cake than a slab of tofu. And being natural-born creatures of habit, pre-schoolers typically boast a short list of acceptable foods. Yet there are some ways of knowing whether you have an average toddler—or a picky eater—on your hands. Fussy eaters typically:

• Protest against or refuse certain foods such as meats and vegetables
• Prefer to play with food on a plate rather than eat it
• Are reluctant to experiment with or try new foods
• Avoid eating certain foods by hiding them or pawning them off on a pet or sibling

And while they may be eating enough calories to keep them energized and growing, they may not be getting enough variety. But you do have options.

What to do

• Get sneaky. Squeeze in more fruits and vegetables whenever you can, whether it’s adding grated zucchini or carrots to a casserole or a handful of berries, granola and dried fruit to iron-fortified cereal.
• Dress it up. Low-calorie salad dressings serve as tasty and colourful dips for raw broccoli, red peppers, carrots and cauliflower. If your fussy eater finds raw vegetables too difficult to chew, try throwing them into a steamer for a few minutes to soften.
• Space out healthy snacks. Avoid giving your child snacks at least one or two hours before meals. If hunger really strikes, offer chopped grapes or sliced apples rather than chips and cookies.
• Make meal prep family fun time. Make food fun by involving your child in grocery shopping and in the preparation or cooking of a meal. Buying children their very own spoons and mixing bowls, and involving them with safe and simple tasks such as measuring milk or stirring ingredients, will make them more likely to eat their own culinary creations.
• Think fruit. If your child absolutely refuses to eat vegetables, look to fruit as an excellent runner-up that’s in the same food group.

What not to do

• Don’t force them. Children tend to eat when they need to — so respect their hunger. If your picky eater is growing normally and has good energy, you’ve got nothing to worry about.
• Don’t leave them sitting. Leaving your fussy eater to sit at the dinner table once the rest of the family has left is not teaching healthy eating habits. In fact, punishing a child for not finishing a meal will only create negative associations with mealtime.
• Don’t dangle dessert. Many parents mistakenly use dessert as a dangling carrot to coax kids into cleaning their plates. But this approach reinforces a child’s view that the best food is served as dessert and they’ll want more of just that. A smarter approach is to provide your child with a single serving of dessert regardless of what he or she eats. And remember, a juicy apple or cool yogurt can also serve as a sweet after-supper snack.
• Don’t make dinner fight time. Keep mealtimes upbeat with pleasant conversation and funny stories that don’t involve food likes and dislikes or criticism about their picky eating habits.

If your child is losing weight, becomes lethargic or vomits/gags on certain foods, it may be time to for an appointment with your child’s healthcare provider.