Your child only eats pizza? Chicken nuggets? Plain pasta with no sauce?
Is that picky eating or simply stubbornness?
Many children seem drawn to the same handful of convenience foods that are easy to prepare and familiar in our culture. But with hundreds of basic foods and thousands of flavor combinations available, it’s hard to believe a child truly only likes three or four items unless they were raised on almost nothing else.
Here’s a note I received from a reader:
“My kids (8 & 9) have become extremely picky eaters over the years. It’s mostly my fault for succumbing to them and just letting them eat their favorite things. I’d like some tips to help them branch out of their ruts. They pretty much only like to eat pizza & chicken nuggets right now. I made homemade nuggets which are at least better than deep fried ones, but they are still just chicken nuggets. Do you have any ideas to get them to try AND like new foods?”
I appreciated that this parent acknowledged her role. It’s an important place to start. Ask yourself: were a wide variety of foods regularly offered—fruits, vegetables, different preparations of meat, eggs, grains, soups—or did the child consistently receive only favorites until they refused everything else?
There are genuine medical or sensory issues for some children. For example, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) can require bland or specific textures and still allow a family to eat balanced meals day to day. When needs are clearly identified and healthy options are adapted to meet them, that’s a reasonable and compassionate approach.
But sometimes a child’s extremely narrow repertoire is driven more by habit and environment than by physiology. If that’s the case, parents can take concrete, consistent steps to broaden their child’s tastes.
Can You Cut Out a Whole Food Group and Still Eat a Balanced Diet?
Yes—some kids may refuse entire groups like fruit but still eat a balanced mix of vegetables, grains, dairy and proteins. That can be frustrating but manageable.
On the other hand, if a child eats mostly junk food—pizza, chicken nuggets, chips, and highly processed snacks—that’s more than picky: it’s a serious nutritional problem that needs changing. Children’s bodies don’t thrive on highly processed food alone, and it’s the parents’ responsibility to nurture the little bodies in their care, not just fill bellies with whatever causes the least resistance.
Here’s How You’ll Fail with a Picky Eater
If the adults in the home won’t try new foods or show a positive attitude about eating well, nothing will change. Modeling matters. If you want different habits, you need a plan and you must commit to it.
Both parents or caregivers should be on the same page. Resolve your own picky tendencies, too. If you continue to make short-order meals, you’ll likely remain the short-order cook until the kids leave home, and they’ll carry a limited palate into adulthood.
Get Out the Eraser: Prevent and Cure Picky Eating
Start by eradicating losing phrases from your home—“He doesn’t like that,” “They won’t eat that,” “She won’t try it,” “He’s a picky eater.” These defeatist words create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead, speak with intent: offer healthy choices, set expectations, and follow through.
Be the Change You Want to See
Model the behavior you expect. If adults taste and regularly eat a variety of foods—even things they don’t love—kids notice. Showing that you value healthy choices, and sometimes eat them even when they’re not your favorite, teaches children that those foods belong at the table.
Create a New Normal
One parent stopped buying boxed mac and cheese and made a homemade version instead. The first few meals came with complaints, but after persistence, homemade mac and cheese became the new normal. The fussing faded and the family adopted a healthier expectation permanently.
Changing mealtime culture takes patience, consistency, and a willingness to tolerate temporary complaints. No child is harmed by not getting a preferred convenience food at dinner; they adapt far more quickly than we fear.
Four Practical Strategies to Bridge Picky Eating
If you’re committed to change, here are four practical strategies to build into your plan.
1. Know your boundaries
You don’t have to force kids to eat everything on their plate, and you might not require a bite of everything right away. Start with small, measurable goals and use baby steps:
- Offer a variety on the plate and ask that any new item stay on the plate for a short time rather than being removed immediately.
- Provide limited choices for how to engage with a new food—smell it, lick it, or take a bite—and gradually phase out the less committed options.
- Set milestones—allow one behavior to become normal before you expect the next change.
- Commit to removing favored junk foods from the house if that’s what undermines progress. No short-order cooking: set a clear deadline and stick to it.
2. Bridge from favorite foods to new ones
Imagine a brick path from a familiar food to healthier options. Each brick is a small step that connects to the previous one.
Examples for pizza:
- Add new toppings such as broccoli, spinach, or zucchini.
- Make pizza together so kids get invested in toppings and preparation.
- Move to whole-grain crusts gradually, then introduce other breads or rolls as stepping stones.
- Use cheese and sauce to introduce blended vegetables so new flavors become familiar.
Examples for chicken nuggets:
- Start with homemade chicken nuggets so ingredients are visible.
- Add finely chopped greens to coatings or introduce a vegetable side plated with nuggets.
- Have kids help prepare the nuggets so they recognize eggs, spices, or other ingredients and can make connections to other meals.
- Experiment with “pizza chicken” (chicken baked with sauce and cheese) or grilled chicken strips with small, familiar vegetable sides.
3. Retrain dinnertime by eliminating snack sabotage
- Make sure kids are hungry for dinner: no snacks at least two hours before the meal.
- Serve vegetables or a healthy dip first so they’re available before the main items.
- Consider a small starter like a blended vegetable soup served before the rest of the meal; delay serving the entree for a few minutes to create structure.
Controlling snacks helps dinner feel important and increases the chances kids will try new foods at the table.
4. Offer healthy options consistently
Eventually you may need to eliminate junk food from the household. If everything on the table fits your healthy standard, then any choice your child makes supports their nutrition. At that point, they can be picky and still be healthy.
Consistency is the engine that drives success. Set clear goals, choose realistic baby steps for your family, and stick with the plan. Expect complaints at first; they usually fade. Celebrate small wins, and remember that involving kids in cooking and preparation is one of the most powerful ways to broaden their palates.
“Thanks for the encouragement on picky eating. I tried the ‘lick it, touch it, or smell it’ with our salmon at dinner this evening. One licked it, one smelled it, and one licked it & decided he wanted to eat it & then asked for more!”
Final note: Some children truly have severe feeding challenges and may eat fewer than 20 different foods. In those cases, professional help from feeding specialists, occupational therapists, or pediatricians is recommended. Experts in the field emphasize that picky eating is complex and not always caused by parenting alone.
Images used with permission.
