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Now I will say, as motivated as I felt after reading the book, there's one huge component we’re lacking here in America. Apparently, in France, their schools, governments, and communities all work “together to create food and education systems that support parents in feeding their children well.” I don’t know about you, but I oftentimes feel like others are working against me (not with me) when it comes to feeding our next generation well. My daughters eat more junk food at school than I would ever dream of giving them at home. I can’t imagine how much easier things would be if everyone in our society was on the same page like they appear to be in France.
But rather than waiting around for that to happen we must just take matters into our own hands. And what I have learned from my own children is that converting a picky eater requires a gentle, yet persistent approach and LOTS of patience! Winning over a picky eater is not something that will happen overnight, but if you really make it a priority in weeks, months, or even a year I guarantee you will start to see some of the dramatic changes you are hoping for. And in the end it will of course be worth the effort.
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10 great takeaways (the “French Food Rules”) from the book French Kids Eat Everything:
- Parents: You are in charge of your children’s food education.
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Apparently the French think us Americans cram our schedules so full with activities (like sports, art, music, dance, etc.) that it leaves little time to teach our children "some of the most basic, important things they need to know, like the proper way to prepare, cook, and eat healthy food." You have to admit it's hard to argue with that criticism. And I just love the analogy the author uses when she says, "French parents think about healthy eating habits the way we think about toilet training, or reading." If your child had trouble learning to read or using the potty would you just give up? Same should go for eating a variety of healthy foods...I know, they are right and it stings.
- - Avoid emotional eating. Food is not a pacifier, a distraction, a toy, a bribe, a reward, or a substitute for discipline.
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I feel like we are so far down this rabbit hole it might be hard to get out, but let’s face it they have a good point here! Food is for nourishment, hunger, and nutrition...not for being a good listener.
- - Parents schedule meals and menus. Kids eat what adults eat: no substitutes and no short-order cooking.
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If this were a reality for everyone it would certainly make life a lot easier!
- - Food is social. Eat family meals together at the table, with no distractions.
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How you eat can be as important as what you eat.
- - Eat vegetables of all colors of the rainbow. Don’t eat the same main dish more than once per week.
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I agree that variety is extremely important, but I am personally a little stumped when it comes to the second half of this rule. We love leftovers at our house and feel they are such a time saver...but that certainly means eating the same main dish more than once, or in some cases, more than twice per week!
- - For picky eaters: You don’t have to like it, but you do have to taste it.
For fussy eaters: You don’t have to like it, but you do have to eat it.
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When considering these statements it's also VERY important to remember that "you're not going to convince the kids to love food by being too strict with them. It has to be enjoyable. Not necessarily loads of fun, but simply pleasurable." This takes us back to that "gentle persistence" I mentioned above.
- - Limit snacks, ideally one per day (two maximum), and not within one hour of meals.
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Now, I know out of all the rules on this list that "no more constant snacking" will likely cause the most uproar. But according to the author it's okay to feel hungry in-between meals and guess what...your kids might eat a better dinner if they are actually hungry!
- - Take your time, for both cooking and eating. Slow food is happy food.
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"North Americans associate food most with health and least with pleasure. The French are at the opposite extreme: they are the most pleasure-oriented and the least health-oriented about food." And ironically enough "20 percent of kids in the United States are obese, but only 3 percent in France." Now if that doesn't send a message, I don't know what does.
- - Eat mostly real, homemade food, and save treats for special occasions. (Hint: Anything processed is not “real” food.)
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See...I am not the only one preaching this statement! :) But "so much of what French people eat is, by default, 'real food'" so I'd have to say they don't exactly face the same challenges we do when it comes to encountering junk food on almost every corner. The French do have an admirable approach though when it comes to the processed, junk food their kids may want to eat on occasion. They do not police their children's food intake (or ban all junk food), but instead attempt to "train their children to eat a balanced diet and to realize how much healthier they feel if they eat mostly 'real food.'" I've always said that if my daughters only avoid processed food "because mommy said so" then it's not going to get us very far.
- - (The Golden Rule) Eating is joyful, not stressful. Treat the food rules as habits or routines rather than strict regulations; it’s fine to relax them once in a while.
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I couldn't agree more with the importance of this rule, but striking the perfect balance between "good nutrition" and "relaxing the rules" is no easy task. And maybe that's because most American children are faced with processed, junk food on a regular basis (at birthday parties, friend's houses, church events, soccer practice, school celebrations, etc.). As I mentioned above, our society is (unfortunately) not exactly working together on these issues like they are in France. Regardless though, I agree it is not "healthy" to constantly be stressed out about the food you eat.
In addition to this list of rules there were so many other startling facts and insightful statements that I took away from this book. I wish I could share them all here, but since that's not a very practical idea I will instead just highly recommend that everyone go out and read the book yourselves! I promise you won't regret it...not to mention there are a handful of kid-friendly recipes in the back.
*THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED*
The winners are:
- Ann - "I abide by the kids eat what adults eat rule and don’t offer other options. We also stick to real foods, minimal sugar. So I think that helps kids eat real food without complaint."
- Emily - "My husband can be a picky eater, so my trick is preparing the same food a number of times. He may not like everything, but perseverance pays off!"
- Nicky - "Rule #6 is the big one in our house….even if you’ve tasted it 50 times, taste it again!"
Carrie says
like :) facebook
Carrie says
unfortunately, the picky eater at my house is also the most stubborn! letting him pick out new foods to try seems to work, he has gotten better at not just flat saying no. and we have our go-to foods, including anything dipped in mustard :)
Angelyn says
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Sarah says
Ive started making my kids green smoothies and they love them. They even see me putting the greens in it but the fruit out powers any "green" taste so they don't care.
I also always put things on their plate even if I don't think they'll eat them. And my oldest has to at least taste something before declaring she doesn't like it. We don't force her to take more than one bite of anything.
Angelyn says
I really try to make sure that every meal includes one thing that my kids like. I put a little bit of any food they don't like on the plate. I'm hoping that repeated exposure will eventually win out. Sometimes I let them dip vegetables into organic ketchup (not great, but at least they eat it)!
Teresa S says
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Teresa S says
This is silly but it works. My kids usually do not eat vegetables. My husband read to act like you are going to eat it, and then they put it in their mouth. He'll say, "I'm going to eat your peas" and start putting his fork over that way and they put it in their mouths. I wish we didn't have to do that, but I want them to get some veggies.
Cynthia Fuller says
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Cynthia Fuller says
I've realized that my picky eaters actually (sometimes) just have preferences. My son enjoys raw celery while my dtr prefers it in veggie soup. I just try to make it available in both forms. :)
Emily says
My best picky eater tip is not to give up! Keep presenting new foods along with familiar ones and model good eating behaviors yourself. Eventually, they'll come around (even if not about everything).
Jen says
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KaNdYce says
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Jen says
I was always taught to eat what the adults were eating and if I truly didn't like something, like frozen turkey loaf - I shudder thinking about it.., my parents would make me something different. I was never forced to eat something, and was allowed to form my own opinions, but I was always offered the adult meal first and expected to try it.
Although I was never a picky eater, when we first got married, my husband was. He liked to eat frozen pizzas for dinner and boxed macaroni and cheese. To get him to come around, I just served him the healthier foods and didn't tell him they were healthy until he had tried it and liked it. (For example, he has a major issue with food textures and doesn't like whole wheat pasta. But I made some mac and cheese and put whole wheat penne in it and he loved it!) Now he goes around educating people on what "real" food is and why you shouldn't eat processed junk. We don't have kids yet, but I hope we are able to give them the same ideas about food!
KaNdYce says
My kids have always had a balanced meal with fruits, veggies, and proteins put in front of then. If you make it a daily routine then there won't be confusion or a surprise. I also let my girls come up with creative ways to serve vegetables. They come up with great ideas that I didn't even think of.
Meghan says
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Meghan says
My 2-year old was a garbage can for a long time- he would eat anything! Now he's more picky and I've noticed it helps him a lot when he watches me prepare the meals and I let him help me. Also, whenever I make big batches of spaghetti sauce, etc., I will puree spaghetti squash or pumpkin and blend it in with the sauce. You can't taste it and I tell my family what's in it and they love it!
Nicole says
I always give my child a little bit of everything that is made. I of course give her larger portions of what I know she will eat and smaller of the "not sure". I started a rule very early, you have to taste one piece/bite. If you do not like it, you don't have to eat the rest. It works fairly well for introducing new items.
Kylie Hipp says
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Kylie Hipp says
My 4yr old loves loves to cook! The more involved he is, the better he eats, and he tends to try things as he is cooking them!
Janeese says
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Janeese says
I have tried everything with my picky eaters...one bite rule, sneaky chef, bribery, begging, threatening and at this point I am having the kiddos help pick out recipes and cooking with me and I am having some success with it. I don't know that one thing works for all kids, for me at least, some things work some of the time and sometimes you just let them eat cheese, pretzels and fruit.
Jenn says
My 2 yr old will eat almost anything if I roll it into a tortilla. Even today, he wouldn't eat my albacore tuna I made w/avocado & tomatoes straight out of the bowl but if I tore off a piece of tortilla & put a spoonful of the tuna inside, he devoured it.
stacie says
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stacie says
offer a variety of healthy options and keep offering them. Kids don't become non-picky eaters overnight. Mom and dad also need to lead by example and eat what they are offering their kids.
Ashley T says
My little one just turned a year old today. I am still working on tricks to get him to eat. While I am sure this is merely successful because of his young age, it's all I have :). He loves oat O cereal. I can put one of those oats on top of a spoonful of just about anything and my very observant son will open his mouth. And most of the time EAT!
ERIN says
I try to tell them what's in it. I explain it's the things they like. I also have started seperating with some things. Example noodles in one bowl, meat in another, vegetables in one and a sauce and let them create dinner. Some like a sauce others don't. I have noticed kids are unpredictable, may enjoy things one minute, and hate it the next. This book looks really neat! Hope I win!
Val B says
I love all of the tips in this book. My parents set great examples for my siblings and I. I'm trying (it’s tough) to do the same with my own kids. My mom always offered multiple veggies options at dinner. Don't feel like broccoli tonight? That's ok because we have green beans too! My dad encouraged a love of veggies through gardening. How could we not try the zucchini, tomatoes or carrots that we just hand-picked?
krystal stahl says
I put my little boy' s food in the silicon cupcake liners and it seems to help with the things that he will not try so much. My biggest thing is to eat all my meals with him. That helps the most especially at our table.
Hannah says
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Franny says
like!! Facebook
Franny says
At least try 1 bite at our house and try never to cave when they want something different to eat (so hard to do) they will usually try it and like it!
Kim Matthiensen says
When I make something that I would like the kids to try, I have each child come in the kitchen BY THEMSELVES (that is the important part), just them and myself (not even dad sometimes), and I ask them to try it. The reason I have them come by themselves is because many times, they will see the reaction of the other/s or hear the comments of the other/s and automatically form an opinion and then resist trying it. So many times, they say "no I dont want to try it because he/she said it was gross or looks funny" and after convincing them to try it, they find that they actually like it.
Aimee says
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Hannah says
Have them help prepare the meal.
Kristin says
Since my son was ready to eat solid foods I have made sure he was eating fresh, organic, colorful food. It starts at the beginning, we need to treat our babies and toddlers little bodies with respect, no goldfish or processed snacks! We need to get back to the basics
Penny says
I adopted a 13 year old girl, wow was she picky. She only ate spaghetti, fried chicken, salad with ranch dressing, and blackeyed peas. My bio daughter had been taught to eat whatever was put in front of her so she helped with the transition. Now she's 21 and still picky but nowhere near as bad as she was, and knows to taste things before writing them off.
Nicole says
My kids eat most of what we serve. I try to make balanced healthy meals and if they don't eat, they don't get any more food until the next meal. When they are good and hungry, they will eat almost anything :) It doesn't always need to be complicated
Sara says
Start introducing kids to vegetables using butter, brown sugar, or cheese to make them more appetizing initially. Then, as kids start to warm up to the vegetables, gradually begin making the preparation of the vegetables healthier.
Alexis says
My 18 month old suddenly stopped eating most vegetables, but he loves to dip his food in sauces and condiments. So instead of giving him ketchup or something like that, I give him a bowl of organic veggie baby food to dip his other food in. At least this way I know he's getting his veggies.
Lisa G says
Letting my almost 4 year old help in preparation excites him and makes him want to try new foods.