To the chagrin of moms a lot of children are very picky eaters.   It's true you won’t find that they have many problems eating hot dogs , pizza or French fries, you will see that they won’t touch a healthy vegetable or a fruit if their life depended it.  This often leads to a veritable food war, causing a lot of frustration and unhappiness between parents and their child .  Most parents would be happy to have children who consumed a plethora of food and don’t always require special meals.

It is crucial that you cure a picky eater, no matter how hard it may be.  While as a parent you may do it initially to make your life simpler , there are more important issues at stake.  Picky eating in childhood can lead to many problems later in life, like obesity.  Picky eating can be an blockage   to your child leading a healthy and happy life.

Most picky eaters favor junk food over health food and this leads to lots of problems, like childhood and adult obesity, which can lead to self-esteem issues and serious health issues like heart disease and diabetes .  If your picky eater only eats fruits and vegetables, you may not have to worry about this issue.

But a difficult eater is often an irregular eater, missing the three solid meals and snacks.  Missing meals can lead to bingeing on unhealthy options throughout the day, like a fast food blow out for lunch.  Planned meals and snacks help a child regulate their hunger and portion control. Bingeing and irregular eating can lead to obesity since the digestive system can get thrown off track and not properly metabolize all food eaten .

The second issue with difficult eaters revolves around the social concerns.  A childhood picky eater may find themselves in socially difficult situations, leaving them  uncomfortable at playdates or school – or perhaps avoiding them all together if they have serious concerns with what they eat.   Just as we exhort our children to get over their shyness and fears and get out there, encouraging a child to be a socially adept eater is also important.

As a mom , do yourself a favor and help your child develop a healthy attitude towards food .  Don’t give up and keep introducing new foods to her menu – research estimates that it can take up to fifteen times for a child to become comfortable with  with a new food.  And of course, set a good example yourself.  Eat your own veggies, snack on healthy fruit and get excited over your salads.   Curing a picky eater will make your parenting life that much easier.