1111

Food Fight!

Picky eaters can make mealtimes nig tmarish
but it doesn't have to be that way.

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

hen I was little, I was the
world's pickiest eater.
I hated liver, wouldn't
swallow pea soup, could-
n't stand fish of any way, shape or form.
The worst experience I remember hap-
pened when I was about 5. After spending
a day sweating over a pot of lentil soup, my
mother placed a bowl of it in front of me.
After one swallow, I knew it wasn't for
me. I spent the rest of the dinner hour try-
ing to figure out exactly how to empty
the bowl without having another
drop pass my lips.
When my mother caught
onto my trick (I was slipping
the soup into a napkin), she
sent me to my room. In my
despair, I called out from
the top of the steps that I
planned to "cry all night"
Apparently, I am not
alone. According to Jennifer
Mann, a registered dietitian
from Children's Hospital of
Michigan, many children suffer
from the socially unacceptable phe-
nomenon of the unclean plate syndrome.
The reasons for being a picky eater are
numerous. Beverly Price, a registered di-
etitian, author -of Nutrition Secrets for Op-
timal Health and mother of 2-year-old
Elana, said the problem may lie in the di-
etary practices of the parents, not the child.
"What I have found is that picky eaters
come from parents who have really poor
eating habits," Ms. Price said.
For other children, in-born sensitivities
to texture, taste and smell makes them fa-
vor some foods for certain qualities and re-
ject others that don't fit within their slim
preferences.

Older children may push aside any offer-
ing which looks unusual, or throw the en-
tire meal out when different foods
commingle on a plate.
And some go on single-selection binges
called food jags, eating nothing but apple-
sauce or peanut butter for a week. Or it
may be that they have one day when they
barely touch a Cheerio, then another when
they can't seem to get enough.
None of this behavior is hazardous to
the child's health, Ms. Mann said.
Although your son or daughter
may skip several meals in a
week, nutritionists have
found that by measuring
a child's food intake
over a three- to five-day
period, his diet is rela-
tively balanced.
Food jags are com-
mon among children,
in part because food is so
new to them that a cer-
tain flavor or texture may
excite their taste buds. Ms.
Price's daughter went through a
phase when she would consumed several
bananas in a day.
"I can't imagine what the people in the
grocery store thought," Ms. Price said.
And while all of this may stress a parent
to the millionth degee, nutritionists say
that food fights should be avoided; some re-
search has linked the pressure to consume
unwanted foods to eating disorders later in
life.
Ms. Price pointed out that children have
little control over mealtime except to regu-
late their own appetite. By refusing to eat
certain foods or anything at all, they exer-
cise this control. Li

Suggestions For
The Parent Of A
Picky Eater

Mealtime can become the battleground of wills in any fami-
ly — but it doesn't have to be that way.
Here are some ideas to help you cope:

Do not become a short order cook. Giving the child that
much control over the meal will only increase the chances
of fighting, while at the same time increasing the cook's
work load.
"There are some foods kids aren't going to like, and then
it is okay to offer something like a peanut butter-and-jelly
sandwich instead," Ms. Price said. "But don't go overboard
and prepare a different meal from scratch for each family
member."

-

Offer a variety of foods at each mealtime. Include a
food the child will like as well as plenty of bread, fruit and
vegetables. If the child does not wish to eat the main offer-
ing, she can still fill up on healthy alternatives.
"This is just the child regulating his own appetite," Ms.
Price said. "Give him a variety so he can pick and choose
what he wants to eat."

Don't coerce children to eat. Try not to bribe or coax
them into finishing-their meal. Don't withhold desert to
have them clean their plate.
"Probably one of the biggest mistakes parents make is to
try to get the child to clean his or her plate by offering a re-
ward of a desert," Ms. Mann said. "It makes kids think the
desert is the superior food."

Don't put your beliefs on the food. If you don't like a par-
ticular food, try not to color the child's perception before she
tries it
"Try to allow the child to formulate his own ideas about
foods," she said.

Offer new foods but don't be disheartened by rejec-
tion. It may take some children a while to get used to new
and different tastes.
"Be patient and don't force it," Ms. Mann advised. "I try
to have the parents relax as much as possible about this
and encourage them to offer the food again in a week or a
month." ❑

— Jill Davidson Sklar