Ways to Help Kids Eat Healthier

Most parents realize that a diet of soda and candy isn’t a healthy choice. What’s a parent to do if their child is a picky eater who refuses fruit and vegetables? There are ways to help kids to eat healthier that don’t involve dramatic fights at the dinner table. Jane E. Brody wrote an article for the New York Times in August of 2015. The article is titled “Another Approach to Raising Healthy Eaters”. In this article, she shares her experience as a child who was a picky eater. She provides some enlightening insights for parents who have a child … Continue reading

Picky Eater?

Most kids go through the picky eater stage at some point in their childhood. It can make feeding time a nightmare for parents, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. There are lots of things you can do to ease the mealtime drama. Here are a few tips to help along the way. Often times picky eating isn’t really about the food that’s placed in front of them. Children like to feel like they are in control of the situation and often a power struggle ensues. You can’t always give them a choice about what they … Continue reading

Help For Picky Eaters

One thing I have strived to do as a Mom is instill good eating habits in Hailey. When I was married, this was difficult, my ex husband was a picky eater and Hailey picked up his habits, to this day she will not eat marinara sauce! Being single has given me the opportunity, and many times the need, to figure out how to serve healthy foods that my daughter will eat without having to worry about someone else’s influence on her choices. Like most children Hailey will choose what’s fast food or junk food over what I wish she would … Continue reading

Imagine That: My Chef’s Helper Likes to Eat

As a busy mom of five kids who mostly cooks on my own because I (mostly) refuse to feed my kids prepackaged junk, I’m always asked what we do to conquer the picky eater. I’ve offered a few ideas before and several of my own recipes under the heading “The Sneaky Mama.” I can’t say that we’ve always had 100% success, but my children eat healthily most of the time and they all consume some manner of fruits and vegetables daily. However, my best “trick” to get my kids to like what they’re eating is to let them help me … Continue reading

The Best of the 2007 Baby Blog

It has been an exciting year in the baby blog with a few changes in bloggers, several news stories, a few series started, and of course lots of information and reflection. This is a list of the best of the best. . .the best news, the best advice and the best of my personal favorites. With that I wish you all a Happy New Year, and look forward to an exciting year in 2008! Ask a Baby Blogger Series–This, in my opinion is one of the best things the baby blog has to offer. Granted, it’s my advice which I … Continue reading

Mushy Food Makes Picky Eaters

The idea that you have to feed your baby pureed baby foods is a very cultural one. Here in America at least, many moms are told to start feeding solids (and by solids I mean that mushy stuff in a jar or rice cereal) around 4 to 6 months. Then we spoon feed them until they finish the jar or ‘eat a good meal.’ We fret if they don’t eat and we fret even more if they at a whole jar yesterday and only want two bites today. However, advice may be changing as UNICEF and others start to talk … Continue reading

Helping Your Child with Hypersensitive Gagging

The gag reflex is designed to be a normal response of the mouth and throat, to prevent your baby from swallowing foreign objects or getting food trapped in the airway. When a child gags, the reflex pushes the food off the back of the tongue and forward out of the mouth. Infants usually have an automatic gag response when the back of the tongue is touched, as part of this natural protection nature provides. Yet ideally, as the child progresses from liquids to strained foods to solids, the gagging reflex diminishes. For some children with disabilities, however, the gagging continues … Continue reading

Sneaky Mama’s Top 9 Tips for Picky Eaters

A few weeks ago, I promised to share some of my secrets to get a picky eater eating more than 2 foods. This is what came of that: The Sneaky Mama’s Guide. I welcome questions on your picky eating problems and I will share a one or two recipes each week until I run out of all my picky eating ideas! I hope it is helpful. I cannot pretend to have all the answers for getting your picky eater to eat. I do hope however, that over the course of several weeks you find at least one tidbit in this … Continue reading

Banning Chocolate Milk Doesn’t Improve Nutrition

Parents who had children in several schools in Oregon noticed what they viewed as a problem. The kids were much more likely to drink chocolate milk than they were to drink white milk. The parents believed that banning the chocolate milk would force the kids to start drinking more white milk. Instead, things did not work out as planned. It is safe to say that the parents in the school district’s PTA meant well. They were hoping to make changes that would provide better nutrition for the students. They believed that removing the chocolate milk, and only offering white milk, … Continue reading

Following Through

My son has suddenly turned into a picky eater. He didn’t used to be, but lately he’s spent the majority of picking out all the things he claims he doesn’t like, which is just about everything. It’s become quite a battle at the dinner table. What’s worse, he’s decided he thinks he’s in charge and doesn’t have to listen to mom anymore. If she says, “No candy until you eat your dinner,” he simply says he’ll just have it anyway. Where did this stubborn streak come from anyway? You can’t win with him; he can argue with you for hours … Continue reading