Food Fake-out For Kids

You just spent an hour on dinner, you sit down to eat, and your child refuses to eat. This is a frustrating experience, and probably one that happens more often than you would like. Too often, a child will refuse to eat something because it’s “gross.” They won’t even try it because it looks gross or smells gross to them. While your child should try everything that they are given, sometimes that is simply easier said than done.

Perhaps more frustrating than a child refusing to eat something is when they refuse to eat something that the week before they finished off and wanted more. Changing their opinion on food seems to happen on a whim and simply by how they feel at the moment. They may love it one day and refuse to eat it the next. They may even try it and still refuse to eat it because they’ve made up their mind they don’t want it.

Trying to coax a child into eating food once they’ve made up their mind is basically impossible to accomplish. While you may have success every now and then, it’s pretty uncommon. Once the mind is made up that something is gross, no matter how much begging or pleading you go through will get them to change their mind (although a bribe might help them to force it down if they want the bribe badly enough).

The real trick is to fake your child out well before the meal begins. Helping your child get excited for a meal beforehand is the easiest way to get them to eat it when it’s time to actually eat. Of course, saying something as simple as “we’re having X for dinner” likely isn’t going to get them excited to eat it unless it’s one of their favorite meals (we’re having pizza for dinner is like Christmas to a child’s ears).

If you’re trying to get them excited about a meal that you’re making that they either have never tried or that you know they go back and forth on it, then it’s time to give them a little encouragement (a bit of a fake-out). As you’re preparing the meal, make sure they know that you’re putting the “magic” into the food. The “magic” is going to make this one of the yummiest things they’ve ever had.

What is the “magic” that you’re putting in? Well, it’s just the words that are going into their head and telling them that it will be yummy. It’s not an actual ingredient that you’re putting in the food, but rather the thoughts you’re putting in their head so that they are mentally prepared to eat the food. It’s the prep work of the food (and your child’s mind) that will get them to eat the food, and not any actual taste itself (although it has to taste semi-decent).

This fake-out of your child is not going to always work. Use it as needed, but realize that there will still be times that they don’t want to eat the food you’ve put in front of them. In these cases you’ll simply need to be firm that they can eat at the next meal and let them go about their resistance/tantrum. Don’t give in and give them whatever they want - that’s a perfect way for them to not try new things.

Help your kids prepare for new foods and foods that they waiver on by telling them about how good it’s going to be before the meals. You used “magic” to make it delicious, and they’ll really like it - you might be surprised how well this works.