My Child Only Wants to Eat ONE Food

here are the top actionable tips from a pediatric registered dietitian

May 15, 2024

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Today’s Question is:

“I serve a meal to my child and she only eats ONE thing on the plate. What should I do? Do I continue replenishing that food even if she hasn’t touched the other food? And when do I say no more?

And here are my rapid fire recommendations as a pediatric dietitian:

Offer more of the food they want, BUT within limits:
For instance, if all your child want is berries, you can give more BUT not at the expense of there not being enough for the other family members. Or you may want to save them for later. So I’d say after about 2-3 servings, you can cut them off and say something like:
“Sweetie, I know you love berries, and you can definitely have some more, but we need to make sure there's enough for everyone else too. Let's have a few now, and you can have some more later. Let's try some of these other foods too. If you're really not ready to try them right now though, that's okay, we can be all done with eating for now."
This approach offers a balance of meeting their desire for berries while setting reasonable limits and encouraging them to explore other foods without creating a negative or stressful mealtime experience.
Did you catch that last part about ending the meal? That leads me to the next tip:
Do NOT offer other options from what was initially served. Once your child realizes they will get whatever they want if they just say no, they may continue to reject initially offered foods, expecting their demands to be met every time. This can lead to a cycle of selective eating and increased mealtime challenges. Remember YOU are in charge of WHAT foods to serve.
Offer favorites with other foods - Favorite foods offer a sense of comfort and familiarity so when paired with less preferred or new foods, your child may feel more secure and open to trying them. Your goal is to continue offering a variety of foods whether or not they get eaten. Because the more they see, the more they will be willing to try them. Familiarity leads to acceptance!
For a while, they might only eat their favorite foods, but one day they might just surprise you by trying something new. If you stop offering a variety, you could miss out on this opportunity!
Set a predictable, consistent mealtime schedule and stick to it!
That way, even if your child only eats berries for lunch, for instance, you and your child can be reassured that there will be another opportunity to eat in 2-3 hours. Again, do not get up and make another meal. Trust the process. Here are some examples of our past and present mealtime schedule.