I have always been fascinated by the fact that you can have several children raised in the same household, served the same food prepared by the same person and yet one eats fruits and vegetables and tries new things and the other eats only chicken tenders and fries. Perhaps this is evidence that I need to get a hobby but I am truly curious as to what makes a picky eater picky. By the way, the above is a description is of my son versus my daughter.

From what I have read, it’s pretty simple really. Many children start out as picky eaters and are sensitive to tastes, smells and textures from birth. Some children find it difficult to chew the food and thus become picky eaters. And some just don’t like the color or the taste of certain foods. The secret is to nurture a child’s developing palate in the same way we nurture their physical, mental and emotional development. As one pediatrician put it, “We don’t move a baby from the crib to the top of a bunk bed overnight. And we don’t give a preschooler a ten-speed when he’s just learning how to ride a bike.”

Babies are born with a taste for sweet, but it can take years for children to develop a taste for sour and bitter foods like vegetables. Developing a taste for these foods is a growth experience, as is learning to walk or learning to read and it is our job as parents to help our children navigate these growth experiences.

Tips for Broadening Your Picky Eaters’ Palates (from Kids Cooking  at About.com)

1.  Put broccoli on the table every night for a month.

2.  Don’t force him to eat. Don’t even suggest that he eat it. And whatever you do, don’t  judge his reaction when he tastes it or spits it out.

3.  Just have it there. Let him see you eating it and enjoying it. If you don’t enjoy it, choose a vegetable you do like. You can’t fake it.

4.  And finally, make sure the atmosphere at the dinner table is pleasant, lighthearted and calm. (Yikes, the pleasant and calm part might be harder than the broccoli problem!)

Don’t expect your five year old (or even your 15 year old) to eat all that broccoli the first night. But over time, if you keep offering it, avoid forcing him to eat it, and enjoy some vegetable yourself, he will come to accept it…maybe even like it.

Did I mention that my daughter, who just turned 9, tries a microscopic piece of a carrot maybe 2 times a year and starts gagging and heaving?  She has always been one for high drama, but the vegetables will continue to appear on her plate nonetheless. And don’t stress out about the waste, as with everything else left on my children’s plates…I eat that , too.