Most of us love the foods of the holiday season but what if you have a picky eater in the house?
It can be challenging for children and their families and can add a helping of stress to any holiday meal.
The feeding specialists at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation in Allentown say they can help.
They work with children who have all kinds of difficulties with eating like
2-year-old Mia Mensch. The day we visited, Mia was trying something new: a Christmas cookie.
Mia is a patient in the feeding program.
Her team includes occupational therapist Becky Jones and speech therapist Sarah Wanuga.
While Mia has physical challenges that have impacted her feeding skills, the therapists say if you have a picky eater this season of new holiday foods-they have some advice.
First -don't overload them with new foods.
"If we're worried about introducing those items every time we sit down to the table, that's just stressful for everybody involved, not just the child but the parents as well. So really focus on just one item per day," says Wanuga.
Next, involve your child in meal preparations.
This allows kids to interact with food, to touch, see and smell it.
"Take your child grocery shopping with you. Maybe in the grocery store they'll pick something out that you never would have thought they'd be interested in. But if they have that control and they get to pick it, they'll be more interested in it or helping with meal prep," says Jones.
Try family style meals where foods are served in large bowls and family members are empowered to serve themselves.
Also, let your child have a part in the meal even if he or she isn't eating it.
"So you could have that child be the server for the meal and encourage them to scoop out a portion and place some on everyone's plate. Even though they're not eating the food, they are still interacting with it in a positive, low pressure way," says Wanuga.
They say avoid the power struggle.
Try not to ask yes/no questions when offering foods. Instead offer choices.
Try not to get frustrated and take it slow.
"Pick one food. Don't give them a whole plate full of new foods. Maybe pick one thing that's a little bit different and present it with some things that they also like so that it's not quite so stressful of an experience for them," says Wanuga.
And the experts say you might want to simply steer clear of some of the spices of the season that may just be too different for finicky eaters to overcome.
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