Then I tried bribing my picky eater even harder

I learned a few importantÂ things since I last reported on bribing my preschooler with dinosaur toys to get him to try new foods:

It is not really a “bribe” it is an “incentive” (I don’t understand why, see definition of bribe.)
Maybe my choice of prize was too weak
My strong-willed child is immune to this kind of tactic

Whitney and her seven-year old daughter felt strongly that the toy dinosaurs were not enough to move the needle on Sawyer’sÂ eating. They enthusiastially suggested that I use a bag of Star Cookies from Trader Joe’s as a new motivator. As you can see above, I put the dessert-prize in front of him each dinner and let him know which foods he had to try for each one.

At barely three-years old, he seemedÂ to fully grok the experiment and was often motivated to try enough food for at least one cookie. But he never tried enough foods for more than one cookie. Again, I believe he ate what he was going to try anyway.

One night, he ate PLAIN PASTA for a cookie. While that seems like a total gimme, most nights he will eat zero pasta, so I’ll call it a win. He nearly nibbled the fig he chose at the grocery store, but didn’t.
The OMG-HE-ATE-MEAT award goes to the night he ate dinosaur chicken bitesÂ slathered with cream cheese and ketchup. I’ll roll with that. Ironically, he wouldn’t touch the tomatoes he picked from our garden while singing a song from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood about trying new foods!
One night he willingly ate blueberries for a treat. It seems basic, but it was a big deal.
The final night, I offered him a DONUT for finishingÂ his dinner. Instead of being motivated, he called me stupid and lost his chance at dessert for a manners violation (despite eating the breaded-frozen fish spreadÂ with cream cheese and ketchup).

I give up!

My biggest lesson: I will now keep cream cheese and ketchup at the ready for all future meat attempts (and let him eat pancakes with faces until he outgrows it)!

I would encourage other parents of picky eaters to make a “Will Eat” list to remember the {good} stuff that is on the limited menu. It might make usÂ feel better. While I’ve had a lot of fun collecting data on my child’s eating habits (or lack thereof), I want to back off of experimenting on him for the time being.