When a family has a child that is a resistive eater, picky eater, or problem eater, mealtimes tend to be a stressful and chaotic time for everyone that is involved. The goal is to make the mealtime environment and experience positive and fun! Siblings can be utilized to demonstrate how to eat, how to behave at the table, and can teach their brother or sister how to be like them. Patrozelle and Moll (2020) stated that 70% of children who ate with their siblings increased their vegetable intake. In addition, older siblings tend to have a responsibility in role modeling and imitating feeding practices for their young siblings in all aspects of their life, and this includes eating (Ayre et al., 2023). Siblings can dilute the worry for their siblings that are hesitant to try new foods.
Potential Sibling Roles:
Eating food like they normally do
Demonstrating try-it strategies for child’s non-preferred food (e.g., bite and spit, lick it, kiss it, smell it, touch it)
Demonstrate positive mealtime behaviors (e.g., sitting at the table until everyone is done, using a napkin to clean face)
Following dinner table rules that are set by the family
Demonstrating messy play (e.g., touching spaghetti with hands, placing toys in yogurt, playing with fruit in water)
No Sibling? No problem!
Present videos of other children or animals eating the food
Set routines and structure as parents
Demonstrate try-it strategies as parents
Pretend play with foods
Involve child in food preparation or grocery shopping
Read books about food
An important tip for parents who encourage their siblings to be role models:
Celebrate the sibling’s accomplishments
Create time for the sibling without the picky, problem, or resistive eater
Allow the sibling still to explore their interest and values as a person
Have meals with the sibling only
*This ensures the sibling feels as important as the picky, problem, or resistive eater.
References
Ayre, S. K., White, M. J., Harris, H. A., & Byrne, R. A. (2023). “I’m having jelly because you’ve
been bad!”: A grounded theory study of mealtimes with siblings in Australian families.
Maternal & Child Nutrition, 19(2), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13484
Klein, M. D. (2019, November 8). Anxious eaters, anxious mealtimes: Practical and
compassionate strategies for mealtime peace. Archway Publishing.
Petrozelle, D., & Moll C. M. (2020). Sibling-supported feeding intervention: Sibling
participation leads to growth in food repertoire and generalization of positive habits to
home. OT Practice, 25(2), 10–13.
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