6 Ways to Handle Your Picky Eater While Traveling
When this mom took her 19-month-old son on a recent trip overseas, she was stressed about what her picky eater would and would not eat; 6 tips she learned on her adventure
My 19-month-old has turned into a picky eater. Although I meet moms every day who are going through the same, frustrating phase, it's still stressful for most moms worried their child isn't getting enough to eat. No matter how many doctors tell you it's fine, or how many books you read saying this is just a phase and "kids will eat when they're hungry," it doesn't much ease our minds.
So, when my son, Luca, and I accompanied my husband on a work trip to London recently; we spent the following week in Ireland for vacation, my son's picky eating habits cast a pall over the trip. How was I supposed to feed him sufficiently in a tiny hotel room? He barely eats meat - so am I supposed to feed him pasta every night at dinner? Even if I went to the store to buy some kid-friendly food, much of the pre-made toddler food sold in those countries are full of meat or fish - so likely, Luca won't touch it. What if he was so out of his comfort zone, being in a different country, that he was turned off to all food? How could we go out to dinner as a family since, not only is he a picky eater, he won't sit still when we go out to dinner these days, either?
In the end, we opted to rent an apartment for the week instead of a hotel room, which not only had two bedrooms for baby and parents, but also had a kitchen and a lot of space for Luca to play. I also took up valuable real estate in my suitcase to bring some of his reliable standby foods made by good-ole Gerber - Graduates for Toddlers Lil' Entrees (they have veggies and the only meat he will eat is in these meals), and their Pasta Pickups. He ended up eating a lot of bread, fruit and yogurt - and pasta here and there - but never once seemed to send the message: "Mama - I'm starving!"
It was, in the end, a learning experience for me - albeit not without stress - but one in which I still tried to tell myself: "It will be OK, he will eat when he's hungry - even if he doesn't quite know what he's eating."
Here are some tips I learned from traveling with a picky toddler that I hope can help you as you navigate this frustrating phase with your child, as well!
1. Bring some familiar food.The Pasta Pickups and other meals I brought were a godsend, not only because I knew Luca would eat it (even though they have vegetables andmeat!), but I think it brought a little bit of familiarity back to him while staying in strange hotels, bed & breakfasts, and other places for two weeks. I even brought a meal to a restaurant in Galway, Ireland, with me, and hesitantly asked the waitress to heat it up for me after Luca rejected the first three options we offered him from our plates.
2. If possible, choose to stay in a place with a refrigerator and microwave, at the very least; a kitchen is, of course, ideal. I was able to buy groceries and make Luca pasta, toast, and other meals I otherwise would not have been able to because we stayed in a place with a kitchen. I could also store reliables like yogurt. Not only did it make more foods available for him to eat, it also saved us a lot of money! (Hint: Vacation Rentals By Owner - vrbo.com - is a great resource when looking for places to stay for more than a few days).
3. If you're staying in a hotel, opt for the buffet breakfast,where available. The buffet breakfast at the hotel we stayed at in Dublin, Ireland, was fantastic, since there was a plethora of food we could offer Luca to make sure he at least ate a good, hearty breakfast. You also may get more for your money than going out for breakfast (especially if you have to buy several different breakfast foods after having your picky eater reject each and every one).
4. Have a lot of snacks on hand.While traveling around London during the day with Luca, I always brought snacks in my bag - snacks from home (familiar items like animal crackers and yogurt melts), and snacks I bought there (veggie puffs and sticks, which he loved!). If you meet fellow moms on your travels that are native to that country, ask what snacks are popular with their kids at the local markets or stores. Then at least you know the snack has traction among some of the local toddler community. My mind was at ease that no, he would not starve.
For related stories on genConnect:
Top Chef Susan Feniger, Ming Tsai on Healthy Back-to-School Foods
Jane Lynch: 'Laying Down the Law' With Child Cell Phone Use (VIDEO)
Helping Your Children Control Their Impulses Makes Them Better Students
About the Author:
Liza Porteus Viana is a freelance journalist located in the New York City area. On top of her duties as genConnect's News & Trends writer. Since she gave birth to her son in March 2010, she has increasingly felt the pull to share her motherhood experiences via her writing. So, she's branching out into the parenting writing circuit, hoping her navigation through motherhood's ups and downs can help others, or, at the very least, let others know they're not alone in pulling their hair out when their toddler won't eat, will say nothing besides "no" all day, or when mom can't quite fit into all of her pre-pregnancy clothes yet.
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