5 Habits That Raise Flexible Eaters (And Help Prevent Picky Eating)

So number one is we didn't wait until he was older to do the things that we wanted to do, things like traveling, going to restaurants, eating in different situations, atmospheres.

Little ones really have to learn through experience.

I have worked with so many parents who feel really scared of eating out with their little one, whether it just feels like too much to think through, too many steps to take, or we're fearful that they won't eat anything on the menu, or we're fearful that they are going to be loud or that they're going to be messy.

And yes, little ones are going to be loud and messy and take up space and draw attention, but isn't that what they're here for? Shouldn't we allow them to be babies, to be toddlers? And if we want the, them to learn how to act or react or enjoy different mealtime experiences, we have to let them live through those.

Something that I see all the time, walking into a restaurant, being anywhere publicly, is little ones constantly placed in front of screens to eat, either to help them eat more, which really usually isn't actually helping them to eat more, it's distracting them, so to the parent, it might feel like they're eating better, or it's just to keep them quiet.

And the problem with that is that it really creates distracted eating and inhibits your little one from being in tune with their own hunger and fullness cues or even really learning food.

It creates a barrier to little ones exploring different foods.

So I see taking your little one out of their norm, taking them to a restaurant, traveling with them, yes, it's hard.

Yes, there's a lot that you have to think through.

Yes, it maybe makes things have multiple steps instead of feeling simple, and 100%, do things on your own, too, without your little one when you can or when you need breaks.

But if we don't let little ones learn through those experiences and we're just waiting until they get older to do the things that we want to do, then they're not learning how to just come along in life with us.

And food is such a big part of what we do every single day.

Nobody is exempt from eating or feeding your little one, right? So if you're in a place of feeling scared or feeling nervous or, like, taking my baby in public to eat or my toddler in public to eat just feels like a lot, I hear you, but the longer that you wait to acclimate your little one to different eating environments, it's going to take them longer to learn how to do that.