Picky eaters, aka children, can be a joy, but when mealtime comes, they can be a bit of a hassle, right? This can get a lot worse when it comes to traveling. When you’re all traveling, you may not get the chance to eat the foods that you’re usually used to eating. You may not get to indulge in fast food like you usually get to.
And when traveling, if you want the best pitas, it can be a challenge if your picky little eater is grouchy from the food. In general, picky eaters can be a challenge to travel with, especially if you’re a foodie. So, what can you do when it comes to all of this? Fortunately, there are some things you as a parent can do to make traveling with a picky eater go a tad easier.
Start with a Plan
Traveling with a picky eater can be stressful. Long car trips, flight changes, new routines, and a change in time zones can make feeding your kid seem like a disaster. You can count on them being grouchy if they’re not getting the food they specifically want! That’s why it’s so important to have a plan! Have a list of foods your child loves and can eat.
This list can be used at restaurants or even as snacks on the go. Try to keep your child in the mindset that they should try at least five bites of whatever gets ordered before making a decision. This will help them get over their fear of trying something they don’t like. But of course, this isn’t exactly the easiest if you’re dealing with a toddler or something.
Do Some Research
This goes with having a plan, but if you can, try to do some research. Traveling with a picky eater can be stressful. You may worry about meltdowns, not being able to locate their favorite foods, and whether or not they’ll like the food at the restaurant. However, if you do your research, you can make it easy on yourself and enjoy your trip – while still managing to get your little one to eat. It takes a lot of time to change the habits of a child who’s a picky eater. But you just need to bare with it when you’re traveling. When it comes to traveling, those daily challenges just feel a lot worse.
Try and Make It Fun
Why not try and make this a game for your child? Kids love games, and even a picky eater won’t be able to see through the potential fun that they’re going to have. The most obvious is to make it a game. Using a game like a challenge will help your picky eater feel like they are part of the team and enjoy their vacation. It also helps them learn what foods they can eat.
They might even surprise themselves and try some new things. Can it be a challenge? Absolutely, but in the end, this could be a nice way to get them to enjoy traveling and to get them to go outside of their comfort zone when it comes to textures and taste.
