I am often asked how I got Nora to be such an adventurous eater. The answer, of course, is that I’m just lucky. She is a naturally good eater, and I’ve just taken advantage of that by offering her lots of different tastes and textures.

My little adventurer.

That said, sometimes she doesn’t really want to eat, or doesn’t really want to eat what I’m giving her, so I have figured out a few tricks along the way.

I have to preface this by saying that I’m not pretending to be an expert. I’m only an expert on my kid (and even that is debatable!). So, naturally, my first tip is to know your child. I know that Nora likes trying new things (usually), that she’s independent, and that she likes to figure it out herself, which guides my approach. If your baby is different, your approach to feeding him will be, too.

My main advice is to try and go with the flow, as much as you can. If the meal I’ve prepared for Nora isn’t something she’s into, I offer a little something else, and if she’s just not having a very hungry day, that’s okay, too.

I think one of the biggest feeding pitfalls for most parents is catering too much to your child’s preferences. I’m not saying don’t give them food they like — I’m just saying give them lots of new foods and re-try foods they haven’t liked in the past, too. Unless your child has an issue with gaining weight appropriately,* try not to stress too much over how much they are eating, or how much they eat at a particular meal. You baby knows his appetite better than you do!

* If your child does have problems with weight gain, you should obviously be following your doctor’s advice, not mine.

So, with all that said, here are some of the tricks I’ve figured out over the last few months. I hope they’re helpful to someone out there!

Tips for transitioning to table foods/self-feeding:

• Start slowly: Try to sit your baby down when she isn’t super-hungry yet and offer her some finger foods. She may just play with them, but that’s okay. Eventually some will find their way into her mouth! Offer purée to top her up afterwards.
• Practice makes perfect: I’m not the world’s biggest fan of processed foods, but puffs worked wonders for us in helping Nora develop her pincer grasp. They stick a little bit to your fingers, which makes it easier for baby to pick them up, and they dissolve in his mouth so they’re not a choking hazard. You can move on to more “real” finger foods once he gets the hang of it.
• Get a grip: Coat anything that’s a little slippery (sliced strawberries, tofu) with some wheat germ to make it easier to pick up. It adds some nutrition and a little sweetness, too!
• Learn from my experience: I’ve put together a couple of lists (here and here) of great beginning finger foods. Try some of them out!
• Stick with it: The transition to table foods won’t happen in a day or a week. It’s a process. The important thing is just to keep trying every so often, even if you’re sure it won’t strike your little one’s fancy. One day it may just be like a switch was flipped!

Tricks for more seasoned eaters:

• Switch it up: If your little one is not loving the apple slices she had previously scarfed down, try giving here a whole apple and see how she does. You might be surprised. Or, if she’s not wanting to gnaw on whole fruit, try small chunks or slices instead. Another option is to grate up fruit or veggies, or even cheese. Nora had grated cheese for the first time the other day and flipped for it. You can also try peeling fruit, if the texture of the skin seems to be icking her out.
• Save the best for last: If I am giving Nora one of her all-time favorites (pears with cinnamon and vanilla, blueberries, or sweet potato, lately), I try to save it for after she’s eaten the rest of her meal, like dessert. Otherwise, she won’t want anything else until she’s had her fill!
• Tickle the palate: Conversely, when your little one just doesn’t seem interested in eating, try offering a bit of one of his favorite foods. Sometimes that can be enough to get his appetite going, and he’ll start eating the other things you’re offering, too.
• I’ll have what Mommy’s having: If there’s one thing toddlers especially like, it’s doing what the big people are doing. If Nora isn’t interested in something, and I take a bite and offer it again, all of a sudden, she’s all about it. Better yet, just give him food from your plate — it’s easier to only cook one meal!
• Feeding the animals: Sometimes Nora likes to eat from my hand, like a little birdie. It’s pretty darn cute. She also likes a helping hand at times when she’s trying to take a big bite out of an apple or other fruit.
• Be cool: I recently discovered that when Nora is teething, frozen berries are a great snack. I let them sit out to soften for a few minutes so they’re not a choking hazard, and then let her go to town. The cold feels good on those sore gums.
• I’ll do it myself: I recently read this great tip from Half Pint Gourmet on helping your little one learn to use a spoon, so we are now giving Nora her own spoon when we feed her things like yogurt or multigrain porridge. She sort of gets the concept, but definitely not enough to reliably feed herself… but practice makes perfect!

The most important part, in my humble opinion, is to just keep trying new things until something sticks. Guess I could have just said that and saved myself some time in writing this post! I think that simple principle would just about put the publishers of parenting books out of business, though…

Do you have any favorite tricks for getting your little ones to eat? I’m always looking for new ones, since everything seems to work for a while, and then it’s back to the drawing board again.