I think I was the pickiest kid I ever heard of when it came to food. EVER. My poor parents must have gone crazy now that I think about it. I was also super stubborn and independent.
Parent Strategy #1: Tempt her with dessert if she finishes her dinner.
Outcome: Ineffective, there was NOOO motivation strong enough to make her eat something she didn't want to. Even if the dessert was placed directly infront of her. Even if it was her favourite dessert in the whole world.
Parent Strategy #2: Don't let her leave the table until dinner is finished.
Outcome: Ineffective, because she is patient and can entertain herself. Eventually it would be late at night and the parents would need to go to bed.
Parent Strategy #3: Force feed her.
Outcome: Ineffective, because if she managed to open her mouth, she would just spit the food back out. Then what?!
Parent Strategy #4: Some sort of physical punishment.
Outcome: Ineffective, because she was not fearful and would rather be hit than eat something she didn't want to. Besides, this still was not getting food into her body.
Parent Strategy #5: Feed her the same uneaten meal for breakfast, lunch, and the following dinner until she eats it.
Outcome: Ineffective, because hunger pangs fade after a while and she'd be happy to starve before eating something she didn't want to. What if someone calls social services?!
Parent Strategy #6: Let her make her own food if she doesn't like what everyone else is eating.
Outcome: Effective- she didn't have to eat "gross" food and then there was no power struggle.
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