Stop Pinching Your Sister! ***

Remember mealtime before you had kids? On any given Saturday evening, you might have spent hours preparing an Armenian Apricot Soup, followed by a balsamic and pepper glazed chicken served with asparagus topped with crumbled feta. After leisurely consuming this palate-please combination, you might have lingered at the dinner-table for hours, sipping wine and engaging in intellectual conversations with your spouse as classical music played quietly in the background.

And then you had kids.

Suddenly, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, consumed while darting around the kitchen (Mom, I need more milk!) is considered fine-dining. Rather than discussing politics, philosophy, or current events, you dinner conversations now go something like this:

“I’m not eating that!” (Your child)

“Yes, you are!” (You)

“No, I’m not.” (Your child)

“Yes, you are!” (You)

“But it’s green – I don’t eat anything green.” (Your child)

This conversation, in all its variations, could continue interminably. Along the way, you might resort to any (or all) of the following tactics:

Pleading – “Try the peas. Just try them. For Mommy.”

Negotiating – “Three more bites, and then you can be finished.”

If you are especially tired or your little one is particularly defiant, you might even find yourself resorting to ultimatums:

“You’re not leaving this table until you eat your peas.”

If this sounds familiar, it might be time for you to take a look at the Law of Diminishing Returns. According to this economic principle, there is a point at which inputs (the level of effort you put into trying to convince your child to eat) exceeds outputs (the amount of food your child actually consumes). In other words, pick your battles. Is it really worth spending ten, twenty, or thirty minutes trying to get your little one to consume something he or she is hell-bent on not consuming?

But, you might argue, my little one has to eat! True, but if we keep in mind the Law of Diminishing Returns, we might be able to identify scenarios in which the level of effort we put forth (in terms of meal preparation/presentation) results in an equal (or greater) level of output (the amount of healthy foods your child consumes). For example, with a little practice, you can master the fine art of hiding healthy foods in your child’s meals! Making spaghetti? Grate in some carrots or toss in some shredded spinach – your little one won’t even notice. (There are a ton of great cookbooks on the market about “hiding” healthy foods in everyday meals.)

One more tip – remember that framing can be half the battle. At our house, for example, my children love “banana treat.” What, you might be wondering, is banana treat? I mash and mix a (ripe) avocado with a banana (or two). The textures are the same, and the sweet taste of the banana masks the taste of the avocado. Obviously if I had presented this to Puppy and Kitten as “avocado mashed with banana”, they would have refused to even try it. So I’ve always referred to it as “banana-treat,” and they’ve grown up thinking it is a real treat. (I know, they are really going to hate me someday!). Another idea? Slice a banana length-wise, smear it with peanut-butter, and call it a banana boat. Arm your little one with a bowl of raisins, and let them add “people” to the boat before eating it.

Do you have any tips about getting your child to eat healthy foods without a battle? We’d all love to hear them!