Thanksgiving with a child who will not eat anything on the table
Thanksgiving dinner is unusually hostile to a picky eater: everything is unfamiliar, served once, and eaten in front of an audience.
Put one known food on the table, on purpose
A bread roll, plain rice, or something you know they eat every week, sitting on the table alongside everything else, is not giving in. It is the difference between a child who eats something and a child who eats nothing, in front of everyone.
Stop narrating the eating
"Just try one bite", said by three different relatives, turns a plate of food into a performance. Serve the plate, say nothing else about it, and let the meal be about the table, not about what is or is not being eaten.
Let them build their own plate, small
A small plate they assembled themselves — even if it is two rolls and a piece of turkey — gets eaten far more reliably than a large plate an adult served for them.
Questions people ask
Should I make my child try new foods on Thanksgiving specifically?
Thanksgiving, with extended family watching, is about the worst day to introduce a new food. Save that for an ordinary Tuesday when nobody is keeping score.
A relative keeps commenting on what my child is not eating. What do I say?
A short, flat "they are fine, thanks" and a change of subject works better than an explanation. An explanation invites a follow-up question.
More like this
A kids' table that actually worksThe week between Christmas and New Year with bored kidsPart of our guide to Holiday hosting with kids.