Hi Cori! I love these wonderful life lessons our kids give us! Thank you so much for sharing x

I have five year olds who have gone through a few years of picky eating. It is not a medical necessity, but rather just a small list of things they prefer.

We are big fans of yours and Ellyn Satter’s, so we are very laissez-faire about it and we do not bribe. We have schedules for snacks and meal times and we offer them only what is available at the table. A few years ago, I adopted the phrase “brave eating.” Like, “Wow! Look at you! You took a bite and that took so much courage.” It sounded stupid at the time and did nothing to make them eat more. I say this even while I acknowledge that Satter recommends you don’t talk about eating at the table.

At one point, my one five year old point-blank told me not to say anything about his food while he ate. I took it to heart. I stopped commenting and we talked about anything except food.

Two weeks later, he surprised me by eating three brand new foods over the course of two days. We talked about the colours of the food instead and how colours in food are important because they make us strong. There was no ‘good job,’ and yet the lack of praise made him want to eat more of a previously unfamiliar food.