If your child insists on eating only one food or a very small group of foods, you are likely dealing with a food jag. As frustrating as food jags can be, they are actually a normal developmental process and are usually a result of a child exerting their new found independence. That is why we most often see food jags in children aged 2 to 6. Unfortunately, just because it’s “normal” it doesn’t mean they’re easy to deal with.
The most important thing when it comes to food jags is to stay calm. Easier said than done, I know! But food jags pass and your child will not become malnourished after just a week or two of a jag. Remember mindful and intuitive eating? Children are learning to listen to their own internal cues and the variety they choose will pick back up again. When it comes to teaching children about intuitive eating, I love Ellyn Satter’s division of responsibility. The responsibility of the parent is to determine what, when, and where children eat. It’s the child’s responsibility to determine whether they eat and how much they eat. I know that seems like a lot of power to give to a kid, especially because many of us grew up with the “clean your plate” rule, but children really do know what their bodies need and will learn to eat accordingly. By you providing the what of a variety of healthy foods, you at least ensure that when they choose whether and how much to eat, they’ll be getting what they need.
The NIH (National Institutes of Health) recommends that you continue to provide the desired food (as long as it is easy to prepare and relatively nutritious) along with a variety of other foods. Over time your child will start to try other foods too. Remember it can take 10-15 exposures to a food before children start to like it! Keep the atmosphere positive and don’t focus on the picky behavior by resorting to the common “clean your plate” rule. In fact, nagging, bribing, threats, or punishment can actually make the behavior much worse and lead to future feeding problems. Helping children learn to rely on their own internal cues rather than our external cues will help them much more in the long run.
Other things that may help include providing lots of fun colored foods, a variety of textures, and new foods to explore. Set a good example yourself by eating the foods you are asking them to eat. Let them help prepare the food or choose foods at the store. Also, avoid high sugar and empty calorie snacks that will fill them up before meals full of healthy foods.
If a food jag last more than a few weeks or your child seems to be having more than an average food jag, please talk with a registered dietitian or speech and language pathologist. They can help you determine if there may be other issues going on like a food allergy, intolerance, or aversion.