Mott Children's Hospital poll reveals majority of parents make separate meals for picky eaters

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Many parents make alternative meals to ensure their child gets enough calories and nutrients.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - If you've made at least two different dinners in one night and you don't work in a restaurant, there's a good chance you're a parent.

We all swear we won't do it, but a new poll finds a lot of parents are making alternative meals to get their kids to eat.

There are a lot of things we don't plan to do as parents until we actually become parents, but a lot of families find getting kids to eat healthy foods and pleasing a picky palate is a real challenge

According to the latest National Poll On Children's Health by C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, three in five parents will make something different if their child doesn't like what the rest of the family is eating.

"Many parents consider making alternative meals for their child, because they're very concerned that the child will go without the calories they need and not get the nutrients they need," said Dr. Susan Woolford.

That can be a problem if the alternative foods are less healthy.

"If they learn to like highly processed foods, foods that are high in salt, high in sugar and high in fat, that is going to be what they tend to turn to, as they grow up," Woolford said.

The poll found 51% of parents report their child is a picky eater, 27% percent say their child doesn't like healthy food.

Other major challenges include the cost of healthy food, concerns about food waste, and not having enough time to prepare healthy food.

"Parents should try to provide a variety of healthy options at each meal, and then let the child decide which of those foods they'll eat, and how much," Woolford said. "And one thing parents can do in addition to this is to avoid giving snacks between meals, that way the child will have a better appetite and be more willing to eat the foods presented at the meal."

Parents should also model healthy eating and encourage kids to try at least a small amount of healthy foods when they're served.

Any other tricks we can try because clearly, parents need more ideas, including kids in the grocery shopping and food prep can help. That makes kids feel more involved and they have an opportunity to help choose new foods, but the bottom line, you just have to keep trying.

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About the Author

Frank McGeorge, MD

Dr. McGeorge can be seen on Local 4 News helping Metro Detroiters with health concerns when he isn't helping save lives in the emergency room at Henry Ford Hospital.