Surviving The Holidays With A Picky Eater
October 2022 | Kirsten Withers, SLP-CCC
Interested in learning some tips to help your picky eater this holiday season?
This blog will focus on:
How to prepare ahead of time for unfamiliar faces and foods
Balancing nutrition with fun foods
Traveling tips
Managing a routine
The holidays can be stressful! Between traveling, crazy schedules and forced conversations with your in-laws, it’s hard enough holding it together. It can be even more stressful if you’re worried about your picky eater. How will they act at the holiday meal? Will they tell Aunt Ellen her bread is disgusting? Will my child eat enough, or will they just live on cookies?
Here are some tips to help you survive the holidays with your picky eater.
Prepare your picky eater
Let them know where you are going and who you will be with. Show them pictures of family members and foods they maybe haven’t seen in a while. You can increase engagement with the photos by using a marker to turn foods into something else. Is that stuffing or Jabba the Hutt covered in gravy???
Talk about the meal and your expectations. Remind them of the table rules and discuss what their response should be if they don’t like a food. When Grandma offers you green beans, you can say, “No, thank you.” If you’re feeling a bit nervous about your child insulting the host, you can let the host know beforehand that your child is struggling with new foods, and you’ve been working on increasing their tolerance. You could even check with the host to see if you can make a dish to share (one that will be accepted for your picky eater).
Practice before the big day
Have your little one help buy and prepare some of the foods that they will be seeing during holiday meals. Try them at home a week or two before the holiday and allow them to play and engage with the food as much as they can. How fast can Zuma slide through cranberry sauce? Can you make a mashed potato mustache? How about carrot fangs? Any interaction with food is a win! Take the pressure off of eating the food and have fun playing with them.
Eat before the meal
It’s okay to let your picky eater munch on a preferred meal or snack before the main event. It can be more challenging for them to focus when in an over-stimulating environment. Make sure that the meal is nutritionally balanced. This includes a protein, carbohydrate, and a fruit or vegetable. During the holiday meal, allow your child to eat more of their preferred foods and don’t force or place demands for them to eat the less familiar foods. If you can, encourage them to eat foods that are similar to the holiday meal (e.g., bread/rolls, fruit, dips, etc.). Maybe a special plate or utensil will help ease the tension of holiday meals…at least for your picky eater. We can’t make any promises with your in-laws!!
Keep your routine
Just because you’re going to have a late dinner, don’t keep your kids hungry and allow them to eat at their typical time. When it’s mealtime, they can join everyone else at the table and eat what is preferred. Encourage them to stay seated at the table. What about a job? Official plate passer…it gives your picky eater a reason to stay on the mix and also puts him in sniffing line with holiday foods!!
Watch out for treats
We all indulge a little on holidays, but sugar is an appetite suppressor so your picky eater will not be feeling very hungry if they’re snacking on delicious treats all day. Don’t hold a treat hostage! If everyone else is getting a treat at the end of the meal, then your kiddo can too, even if they didn’t eat all the turkey on their plate!
Traveling
Traveling is exhausting for everyone. Discuss your traveling plans with your child so they know what to expect. Attempt to stick to your regular schedules for sleep and meals. Consider bringing your child’s preferred cups, plates, and utensils so they have something familiar at mealtime.
Holidays are a fun and exciting time. Take the pressure off yourself and your picky eater. Remember it’s your holiday too. Try to stay calm, take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy your holidays (as much a possible with your kids running circles around you!)!
Photo Credit: Unsplash