Solution to the Picky Eater Blues (2 videos)

Having a picky eater can be a real drag. Having fun with your kids while buying and preparing food takes the stress out of it and has been shown to broaden their palates. A great place to start is at the farmers market. Fresh produce is bountiful at this time of year and you can get great deals. These Parent Earth short videos show fun and easy ways to engage your kid at the farmers market and then how to make squash soup together when you get home.

Latham Thomas takes her 6 year-old son Fulano to the Union Square Farmers Market in New York City and they buy all the ingredients for dinner (plus leftovers!) for under 20 bucks.

She offers simple ways to engage all of a child’s senses and tips on how to turn a potentially stressful shopping errand into a pleasant outing. In the second episode, she takes her son home to their apartment in Harlem where they cook together. Before they eat, Fulano says a little prayer that he wrote himself: “thank you for the food, thank you for making it, thank you for growing it, thank you for picking it.”

Try watching these cooking with kids videos with your child before you go out to the market – it might get them pumped about the trip. You can find a farmers market near you using the Eat Well Guide!

See how Care2 community responded to this question: Is your kid a picky eater?

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Elena A.

12:14AM PDT on Apr 29, 2011

That's great :). Thank you :)

send a green star

Donna N.

7:39AM PST on Jan 7, 2011

I have a picky child. He loves cooking and playing cooking but doesn't want to try what he's made. But I'm glad it's not just me! Thanks, I'll keep on trying!

Robynn L.

7:12AM PST on Dec 30, 2010

great ideas thanks

jane r.

10:53AM PST on Nov 12, 2010

Thanks for the reinforcement.

Justine S.

10:34AM PST on Nov 8, 2010

I agree that the parents have to practice what they preach. I look forward to my daughter being old enough to participate in buying of groceries and cooking too.

Lika S.

12:40AM PDT on Nov 7, 2010

I started extremely young introducing new flavors to my son, who is now 10. As soon as he was old enough, he got to try new things. Fruits, veggies (including green bean casserole w/o the onions), and more. Since he started with variety, he still enjoys a wide variety. People are amazed that he eats spinach, brussel sprouts, and more... He also enjoys a wide variety of flavors, from Chinese, to Japanese, to Italian to Serbian...

We've also been cooking for a long time together, and he's very good with helping in the kitchen. He knows how to do meatballs for spaghetti and for Swedish, and can do the Italian sauce just fine. He also knows how to do mac n cheese, pumpkin pie, and more...

When the kids get to choose what to have or at least the sides, they're more apt to eat what you put in front of them. Plus it's good to teach our kids to cook. Don't forget to teach them to change their tires & fill their car fluids when they're old enough. All important regardless of gender.

Elaine D.

9:17AM PDT on Nov 6, 2010

thanks for the information

Barbara E.

8:57PM PDT on Oct 30, 2010

My children always loved to eat! Good ideas in this article though. Will pass it on. Thanx :-)

Mary L.

9:52PM PDT on Oct 28, 2010

Fisher C. in this day and age the child rules. Trying to find boundaries, they push until they run up against them or have become spoiled brats.

There are a few children who instinctively seem to know what foods to stay away from.

I always told my kids, they didn't have to eat a lot but they did have to take two bites.

They never developed the chicken nuggets and fries only diet. I also suspect it was they shopped with me, picked the dinner menu turn by turn and chicken nuggets were a treat.

KayL N.

4:18PM PDT on Oct 28, 2010

One of the best ways to not raise a picky eater is not to be a picky eater yourself, especially in front of the kid. Practice what you preach goes for eating as well as lying and cursing, because kids notice when when *you* are not doing what you're telling them to do.

When I was a little kid, I overheard my father telling a buddy, "I never eat what I don't like, and I can tell just by looking at it if I'll like it or not." So, when my mother tried to make me eat a new vegetable I didn't like the looks of, I told her I didn't like it. When she countered with, "How do you know you don't like it if you haven't tried it?" I trotted out, "I'm just like Daddy. He can tell if he likes it by just looking at it, and I can, too."

Unfortunately, in this case, my parents did practice what they preached. My father wasn't willing to give up judging food by its looks, so to be fair, he and my mother never forced me to try new stuff if I didn't like the looks....