How to Know a Child's Favorite Food

Although that defiant pucker and not-too-subtle head turn when you present your child with an item that she doesn't like makes it simple to spot foods that your child disdains, knowing which ones she actually enjoys isn't always as easy. Identifying what foods your child rates as the best of the best can help you to plan meals that she'll enjoy, pack a school lunch that she'll actually eat and provide friends and family with ideas of foods to feed her when she's visiting.

Things You'll Need

  • Notebook
  • Pen

Instructions

    • 1

      Sit down for family meals together. Introduce an array of different foods during them, making each breakfast, lunch or dinner a chance to try something new. Provide foods from all of the food groups over the course of the day through your family meals, making sure that you serve your child vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy and proteins.

    • 2

      Watch what your child eats during your family's meals. Note which foods he immediately tries, as these are possible favorites. Glance over at his plate during the course of the meal to see what foods he is gobbling up and what ones he's pushing off to the side.

    • 3

      Write down the foods that your child seems to gleefully eat in a journal. Return to those foods, and serve them again to test your child's like or dislike for them. Note if your child seems just as content to try and eat the food again and again.

    • 4

      Enlist your child in mealtime decision making. Ask your child what he wants to eat for a family dinner or what he thinks you should pack in his school lunch. Plan a menu together, gathering his suggestions on what dishes he wants to eat.

    • 5

      Take your child grocery shopping with you. Ask her to help you make a shopping list. Allow her to help you choose healthy food items that she likes at the store.

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