Overcoming Children's Picky Eating with "Psychological Tactics"! 5 Tips from Our Home

🍙About my daughter

My third-grade daughter is incredibly energetic. She's so full of life that she'd say, "If I have time to eat, I'd rather be playing!" or "I'll die if I'm not moving!"
Perhaps because of that, she has no obsession with food, or rather, she isn't very interested in eating.
She's a bit of a picky eater, has many likes and dislikes, and her preferences change constantly.

As a mother, I want her to eat a balanced diet, but based on experience, I have decided on a few rules.

◯ Do not force her to eat (I don't want to make meals a painful experience)
◯ Watch over her own realizations (I believe the things she can eat will increase with age and environment)

That said, meals are an everyday occurrence. It can be stressful for me when she doesn't eat. So, this time, I'd like to introduce the "psychological tactics" I usually practice, aiming to help her "try and overcome" the foods she dislikes.

Tactic 1 | Try changing the shape or the plate

This is effective when she says things like "I don't want rice" or finds the meal itself a hassle.

For example, rice. Instead of serving it in a bowl, I use molds or make it into sushi rolls.

It's not just for rice; I try changing the shape or size of things like hamburger steaks or chicken meatballs by making them heart-shaped or small, about 3cm in size.
Also, changing the tableware, such as using children's plates or wooden dishes, is recommended.

My daughter seems to feel thatwhite rice served in a bowl doesn't spark her appetiteso when I change the appearance from time to time, she eats more than usual. In this way, I attract her interest with visual changes and get her to sit at the table first.

Tactic 2 | Try changing the timing of when to eat

Natto, which she loved in kindergarten, became something she rejected after a while in elementary school...

"If I eat natto, my breath will smell, and I won't be able to talk to my crush♡"

"Are you a girl?" Well, she is a girl, isn't she? Haha.
She said she didn't like it because she felt her breath would smell even after brushing if she ate it in the morning. Once I understood that, she started eating it for dinner, even if she couldn't for breakfast.

Even with the same food, sometimes just changing"when to eat it"makes it easier for them to accept.

Tactic 3 | Try cooking together

In our home, I've let my daughter have her own "personal knife" since she was in kindergarten.
・Cutting vegetables
・Dissolving miso
・Plating the food

...by being involved in the process,a sense of satisfaction and confidence that "I made this myself!"is born, and she can try things she dislikes.

Simple tasks like "wash the vegetables" have low satisfaction and are less effective, so I recommend letting them handle various steps.

However, to do that, you need time and mental space as an adult...haha.

I can't do it on weekdays either, but by helping out occasionally on weekends when I have time, my child can now make miso soup and simple stir-fries on her own.

By saying, "I made this today! Make sure you eat it all!" and pretending to be the mother, she has even overcome some of her own picky eating habits.

Tactic 4 | Try changing the situation

①Camping
Even with the same meat, when you grill it over charcoal, not only the meat but also the vegetables become sweeter and more delicious, don't they? My daughter isn't good with cooked vegetables and mostly eats them as "salad," but she overcame her dislike of green peppers, turnips, and onions by having them charcoal-grilled.

②Home gardening or harvesting experiences
She often eats vegetables grown at home, perhaps because she can see the growth process and feels attached to them. Outside of the home, harvesting experiences at school or local events are also recommended.

③Eating with friends
Hearing a friend say, "I hate green peppers," perhaps tickled her big-sister pride, and she said, "Look! I can eat them!" and tried to act more grown-up, which led to her overcoming it.

Extraordinary experiences and the influence of friends can be surprisingly powerful.

Tactic 5 | It's fun to be like an adult

Conversely, not treating them like a child is another option.

When my husband and I enjoy coffee time, our daughter looks very envious. So, we say, "Want to have coffee time with us?" and make her authentic cocoa, serving it in the same cup as the adults.

This, in terms of what ingredient she is trying to challenge, is "milk".

She dislikes the taste of milk and often leaves it at school lunch, but by doing it just like the adults, she can sometimes drink it just because of the atmosphere.

In conclusion

Children's picky eating changes little by little as they grow and their environment changes.
That is why I hope we can enjoy incorporating "tricks to get them to eat now."
I would be happy if this serves as a hint to reduce stress for both parent and child and make mealtime a little more fun.