r/daddit • u/WearilyNice • 3d ago

Story Something unexpected that worked for our picky eater

We’ve always tried to avoid mealtime battles with our picky eater. He’s not a fan of certain textures, heat, or strong flavors, so introducing new foods has always been tricky. After lots of trial and error and frustration, we decided to try something totally different: offering him a small allowance every time he tried a new food. No pressure, no strings attached—just a simple reward for his effort.

To make it a family affair, we gave his sibling the same amount whenever this happened. This created a really fun dynamic where his brother became his biggest cheerleader, encouraging him to explore new foods. To our surprise, it worked better than we could’ve imagined.

In just two months, our picky eater has tried more new foods than he had in the previous two years. Even more exciting, he’s actually started enjoying the process! He comes home from school eager to tell us about new foods he’s tasted, and he’s proud of himself. It’s a huge turnaround from where we started.

I know this approach might not be for everyone, and I get that there are different opinions on the topic of “rewards.” But for us, it’s turned mealtime into something positive and fun instead of stressful. If you’ve tried everything else, maybe this could be something to consider. Parenting is one big experiment anyway, right?

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u/Jsand117 3d ago

Great job, my daughter is an incredibly picky eater and I’ve resigned myself to hoping she grows out of it… curious, what are you rewarding him with?

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u/WearilyNice 3d ago

It's a generous offer of $1, allowing him the freedom to spend it however he chooses or trade it in for toys or screentime. Additionally, we are flexible when it comes to paying the amount multiple times, especially for items like salad or other vegetables, as we think that repetition contributes to building beneficial habits.

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u/WearilyNice 3d ago

I also want to mention that a dollar worked for us, but I would have been willing to go higher too.

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u/Jsand117 3d ago

Ah, my daughter is3 and she has no concept of $ yet

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u/WearilyNice 3d ago

Valid point. By 5 1/2 this can work very well. 3 is still pretty young. They don't appreciate dealmaking.

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u/yodatsracist 3d ago

Stickers.

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u/WearilyNice 2d ago

Yes stickers work too. The school started giving kids stickers for trying new foods after I told them that we reward our son. The stickers were their idea though and from what I have heard they keep running out.