Tips for Picky Eaters

1. Maintain a Pleasant Mealtime Environment
   Ensure interaction during meals is pleasant and happy. Avoid using food as a reward or punishment, as this can create unhealthy eating habits and increase the desire for certain foods when children have more autonomy.

2. Model Healthy Eating Behavior
   Parents, siblings, and peers should model tasting new foods and eating a balanced meal, as children are influenced by the eating behaviors they observe.

3. Offer a Variety of Foods and Repeated Exposure
   Children should be exposed to a wide range of foods, tastes, and textures. Offer new foods multiple times (8-15 times) before concluding they are rejected, as repeated exposure increases acceptance and liking.

4. Control Food Availability at Home
   Parents should control which foods are available at home. Restricting access to certain foods can sometimes backfire by increasing the child's desire for them, so focus on making healthy options available and attractive instead.

5. Allow Children to Respond to Their Satiety Signals
   Children have good awareness of their own satiety. Avoid forcing children to finish their plate, which can decrease their preference for certain foods and disrupt their natural hunger cues.

6. Offer Vegetables When Hungry and Increase Portions
   Offering vegetables at the beginning of the meal when the child is hungry and increasing the portion size of vegetables served can effectively increase vegetable consumption in picky eaters.

7. Establish Regular Family Meals Without Distractions
   Eating together at a table without distractions such as TV or screens is associated with improved diet quality and positive parenting opportunities during meals. This practice can encourage better eating habits.

8. Encourage Slow Eating and Chewing
   Encourage children to eat at a slower pace and chew their food properly. Extending mealtime to about 15 minutes with conversation can help children eat better and enjoy the meal experience more.

9. Avoid Using Food as a Reward or Punishment
   Using food as a reward or punishment can increase preference for those "reward" foods and decrease acceptance of other foods. Instead, use non-food rewards such as toys, family time, or special activities.

10. Be Patient and Nonjudgmental
    Children’s wariness of new foods is normal. Parents should ignore negative eating behaviors unless unsafe and should provide consistent, calm encouragement and opportunities to try new foods without pressure.

These strategies help foster healthy eating habits without creating stressful mealtime battles, enabling children to develop a positive relationship with food gradually.

If you want, I can summarize or explain these strategies further!