There is a lot of talk and support for parents with picky toddlers, but those masters of the playground don’t hold the monopoly on picky eating — teenagers give them a run for their money in this food battle. In fact, all age groups have some degree of picky eating patterns. When there is picky eating in teenage athletes, it might lead to parent frustration and fights about food.
Identify the Reason
If possible, see if there is a reason for the picky eating. Is it a straight up dislike of certain foods, or is there more? Here are some reasons that might be causing the pickiness:
- Taste
- Texture
- Smell
Allergies or intolerances may look like picky eating, when really it could be that your child has a reaction after they eat a certain food.
Correlations – It’s possible that your teenager relates a certain food to a way they feel or a situation. For example, if they ate a food while they were sick, even though the food didn’t cause the sickness, they may not be able to eat that food again, because it makes them feel sick.
What Nutrients Are Missing?
This will take a little investigative sleuthing, but start taking notice of what they are avoiding and what they are eating. If they are missing an entire food group, that’s when you need to take action. Excluding one or two foods consistently isn’t a cause for alarm, but if your teen is skipping all dairy, or not eating any protein-rich foods, then you need to step in and have a conversation.
Compromise on Food
Compromise might be the hardest word in the teenage dictionary, but we’ll add it here just for kicks.
Once your private investigation is done, you can go into the food conversation with a little more credibility and some forethought.
Food Group Missing: If they are skipping an entire food group, you need to figure out how to replace those nutrients. Typically really picky kids (and adults for that matter) will have one or two foods in that group that they will actually eat, you may just not have it in the house.
Dairy: Milk consumption may decrease in the teen years, so to make up for that, ask if they would like chocolate milk, yogurt drinks, probiotic kefir (you’d be surprised) – Yakult shots taste like orange cream, or plant-based milk.
Meat: If your kid has unilaterally decided to become vegetarian or vegan (also normal in the teen years), you may see them turning away animal meat. If beans aren’t their thing yet, try making hummus, mixing black beans into a rice dish, or making an all-bean chili.
Vegetables: It is a rare feat to get kids to get their 2-3 cups of veggies per day. If they aren’t eating any, you need to step in every once in a while. Ask what they like and figure out a way to make that more than once a week. Potatoes are extremely nutritious, so if your kid loves potatoes, you can definitely find some creative ways to get potatoes in your dinners.
The Packaged Food Kid: If you have a kid who will only eat out of a package or figures out a way to get fast food, don’t worry there is hope for them.
Ask For the Half and Half Compromise: Half packaged, half fresh. There are ways around this to still feel like they are getting the nutrition they need. Here’s how to make that work:
Fruit: Fruit is the easiest one to improve on, so if this is an issue – it’s a great way to start an early win for parents who are working on picky eating.
- If they are a no-go on fresh fruit all the time, swap out 100% juice canned fruit or the single-serve fruit cups in 100% juice.
- Better yet, if your teen will drink their fruit, blend up their fruit into a smoothie and call it a day.
- Pressed dried fruit bars are also an option to keep the fiber and provide fruit on the go.
Vegetables: One word: DIP – There are a lot of store-bought dips that will facilitate the consumption of vegetables – go for it with chopped mini cucumbers, baby carrots, or sliced radishes.
- Hummus cups
- Guacamole cups
- Ranch…yes, ranch. If it helps them eat more veggies, it’s a win for them and for you.
Packaged Food: When you have to compromise on your kid wanting to eat boxed mac and cheese or frozen pizza, remind them of the importance of fruits and vegetables and COMPROMISE to choose one serving of fruits or vegetables with their chosen packaged food.
The junk food line is tricky. It’s always important not to demonize foods, and to teach that all foods have a place. However, their active bodies need nutrients from fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein-rich foods, and whole grains. Teaching them to balance in their teens will work wonders when they are faced with a sea of unhealthy choices if they go to college.
If they are taught to add healthier foods instead of subtracting unhealthy, it will help fill nutrient gaps faster than simply taking out the junk.
Bottom Line
Kids can be picky eaters at all stages of life. Lean into their food preferences instead of revolting against them. You will find it easier to ADD to their pickiness instead of trying to take away from the few foods they choose to eat.
*No companies asked me to link to their products -these are only examples of what products are available. I was not paid, nor given samples.
