The selective schoolage eater

Nutrition check
If you're concerned that your child's selective eating is leaving him malnourished, keep a food diary over a few weeks. Once you have the facts, solving the problem may be as simple as one, two, three.

1. If your child doesn't like a certain food, replace it with a food from the same food group. If your child despises vegetables, serve fruit to her. If your son won't drink milk, maybe he'll go for cheese, yogurt, yogurt beverages, or flavoured milk and homemade milkshakes.

2. If your child eats little from any one food group, increase her intake by disguising the despised foods in dishes that she does like. If she rejects most fruits and vegetables, try mixing grated zucchini and carrots into spaghetti sauce, muffins, meat loaf, and lasagna. If your child shuns dairy products, serve milk-based soups, toss skim-milk powder into meat loaf, and make milk puddings.

3. If your child refuses all foods from an entire food group and all dishes containing those foods, consult your physician or a dietitian as to whether she needs a vitamin or mineral supplement. For a referral to a dietitian, ask your child's doctor or contact the Dietitians of Canada for the name and number of a dietitian working in your area. In some provinces, if your doctor refers you to a dietitian, there may be no charge. Otherwise, the typical fee for consultation is $60 an hour. Check whether your health plan covers this service.

Vegetarian Kids
Overnight, your child became a vegetarian. She says she just can't stomach the idea of eating an animal. About 7 per cent of North Americans are vegetarians, and the numbers are increasing all the time as more and more preteen and teenage girls turn vegetarian.

If your child has turned vegetarian, respect her choice. If she's only a vegetarian until dinner, refrain from remarking on her lack of willpower. If she's a vegetarian except for fast-food burgers, it's her choice. If she gives up meat for good, ensure that she receives sufficient nourishment from other sources.