Wouldn't it be a game-changer to be on the same page with your picky eater? ("Mission Impossible" theme song playing in the background.) The thing is, your child's refusal to eat rarely has anything to do with your cooking or the food itself. But understanding what's actually behind the refusal can help you move through a picky phase much faster and even if it's not a phase, figure out quickly how to work with it. You must be thinking: easier said than done! Picky eaters seem to never give up! It is easy to get worked up about them not eating. And it is easy to be checked out and resigned about their pickiness. But while acting and being that way, you're unlikely to motivate your child to eat. What your picky eater doesn't know is that you will never give up either!

Take a deep breath. Regroup. One of the best ways to relate to your child is through cooking together. You'll see them transform from being a picky eater to being a little chef! This is the concept behind our upcoming app, "Picky Chefs." Have you noticed that kids are magically drawn to food preparation and the kitchen? Why do you think that is? Maybe they want to imitate grown-ups? Get messy? Explore? Maybe all they want is to be close to us? To be silly with mom and dad? Exploring this territory bears many new possibilities. When you allow yourself to be in silly mode with your kids, everything shifts and real magic happens!

Next time you feel like you've hit a wall, consider involving your picky eater in meal preparation. Give them a rolling pin and ask them to help with lunch. Let them be silly and have a rolling revolution: roll backward and forward over foods with different textures. Bread is spongy. Garlic is crunchy. Bananas are squishy. As soon as they realize that you are the source of fun when it comes to food, you may experience the connection that has not been there before. And when they're having fun and their guard is down, you might even find out what's actually behind their refusal to eat.