The Ten Commandments for
Developing Healthy Eaters
All About Nutrition and You©
Carol Ann Brannon, MS, RD, LD
Do you have one or more picky eaters in your household? Do you feel like a short-order cook at mealtimes? Are you concerned about the nutritional quality of your diet and that of the picky eaters in your household? If so, you are not alone and there is help! There are Ten Commandments for Developing Healthy Eaters. Will your effort be rewarded? Yes, without a doubt, a healthy diet is essential to optimal wellness and performance.
The Ten Commandments for Developing Healthy Eaters
1. Be Responsible: Parents are the nutritional gatekeepers for their child or children. It is the responsibility to parents to be intentional and determine:
What a child eats: Primarily whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, low-fat or skim diary foods, healthy fats and beverages
Where a child eats: Establish designated places where eating is allowed
When a child eats: Establish time guidelines for when meals and snacks will be served and eaten; adhere to these guidelines!
2. Be Accepting of your child’s responsibilities, which include:
How Much to Eat
Whether to Eat or NOT to Eat
Must Eat from the Foods Offered
3. Be Persistent: Many parents stop offering a particular food after a child refuses it once or twice, but research shows it may take 12 to 15 exposures before a child will accept a new food (American Dietetic Association).
4. Be a Positive Role-Model: Set a good example for your children; let them see you enjoying healthy foods and trying new foods. Sit down with your family to eat. Too often mothers eat standing up as they serve family members and dads can be tempted to eat in front of the TV while the “big” game is on!
5. Be a Mindful Eater: Eat without distractions like the TV; limit TV watching to 2 hours or less per day. Pay attention to portion sizes; never eat right out of a bag or box, rather portion out an appropriate serving. Do not allow yourself or your family members to “graze” throughout the day.
6. Be Creative: If your child refuses to eat a particular food, offer it in a different way. For example, if your child doesn’t like steamed broccoli, perhaps they will like raw broccoli with Ranch dip, add fat-free refried beans to spaghetti sauce or taco meat, try adding shredded zucchini or carrots to muffins, and try putting veggies under the cheese on homemade pizzas.
7. Be Respectful of a child’s eating quirks or wishes. For example respect that your child likes his/her sandwich cut diagonally or that they eat one food at a time, etc.
8. Be Proactive: Involve your child or children in menu planning and preparation. It’s important to expose picky eaters to a variety of foods. Allow children to wash, handle, or even play with foods they don’t like. Have them help you make a meal in the kitchen; children that have helped prepare a dish are much more likely to try the new food.
Be Calm: Avoid engaging in bribes or battles over food; invite, rather than command, your child to try a new food. Allow your child permission to put the new food in their mouth and permission to spit out the bite into the napkin. Repeat this again in a few weeks.
10. Be Intentional: Make family meal times a priority. Eat at least one meal together as a family. Keep the atmosphere light and happy. The dinner table is not the place for confrontational family discussions. Have family members share something good or funny that happened during their day.
References: Slatter, Ellyn. “Child of Mine, Feeding with Love and Good Sense”
and The American Dietetic Association (www.eatright.org)
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