Readers’ Questions – Dealing with Fussy Eaters

As the entries to win a copy of Dana’s Top Ten Table roll in, a few patterns emerge. You’re bored, strapped for time and dealing with fussy eaters. While Dana’s going to address the first two questions (and eight others) in an interview later, I thought I’d get a jump start on the third issue — finicky eaters.

John Wilmot once said, “Before I was married, I had a hundred theories about raising children and no children. Now, I have three children and no theories.” Well, I’ve no children and I’m no fool. I can tell you it takes 8 to 15 exposures to get a child to accept a new food. I can tell you to include everyone in the meal planning and dinner preparations to get buy-in. I can even point you to a quiz to assess which type of taster you and your family members are (point, point). But I know this is all theory and doesn’t always translate neatly to reality. Heck, my mom did the 15-exposure thing with me and peas. And what did she get? A stash of dehydrated veggies tucked under the table ledge.

And I’m still no fan of peas.

So, whether you’re dealing with a two-year-old, a 62-year-old or any age in between, why not share your tips and tricks on getting dinner into picky eaters. What works? What doesn’t? Maybe between us we’ll find some solutions that suit some of the people some of the time.

Oh yes, and if you haven’t already entered the book giveaway, the contest is still open until noon on Monday.

Photo © H. Dickins. Published under a Creative Commons License.