picky kids and temperament

This is a great quote from Dawn Friedman at This Woman's Work who talks about the very different temperaments of her two children and how it effects how she home-schools. "The surest way to ruin anything for him was to try to lead him — he is a kid who wants to find his own way and will let us know if he needs our help. Even casually offering help might be enough to make him shut down. "

While she is talking about learning styles, she may as well have been talking about learning to like new foods, or how picky a child is. I wonder if this trait translates into eating as well...

You see, some children are VERY sensitive to any pressure to try or like new foods.

What doesn't work:

1) "No thank you," or "one bight rule."

2) rationalizing, or explaining, "You liked this last time, I know you'll like it. You like broccoli, this tastes just like that!"

3) Over-selling something, "This is SOOO good, don't you think so Dad? This is the BEST casserole I've ever made, look at the delicious peppers, they're your favorite color!" Yum!

4) praising or rewarding for trying new foods

The initiative needs to come from the child. Put the food on the table, you enjoy it, have a pleasant time, talk about anything but the food and let the child come to the food on his or her own terms. (This can take time depending on the child's temperament, how much they were pressured and for how long...)

How does your child's temperament play into your feeding and eating challenges?