Child Health
A Parent’s Guide to Navigating Picky Eating with Confidence
For families with young children, mealtimes can often feel like negotiations or even battles. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Picky eating is one of the most universal challenges families face. With the right strategies, parents can reduce stress, build healthier habits and help children become more confident, curious eaters.
Last Updated on April 27, 2026 by Daily News Staff
(Feature Impact)For families with young children, mealtimes can often feel like negotiations or even battles. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Picky eating is one of the most universal challenges families face.
With the right strategies, parents can reduce stress, build healthier habits and help children become more confident, curious eaters. Dr. Lauren Loquasto, senior vice president and chief academic officer at The Goddard School, and registered dietitian Ali Bandier, founder of Senta Health and member of the Expert Council at Little Spoon, share these insights and guidance to help parents navigate picky eating.
Why Young Children are Picky Eaters
Picky eating isn’t just common; it’s an expected part of early childhood development. In fact, it would be more surprising if children didn’t experience a picky eating phase.
Picky eating is a natural expression of independence. As children enter toddlerhood, they discover they can assert control, and food becomes a typical place to do it. They can’t decide whether to go to school or take a bath, but they can decide whether to take a bite of broccoli.
Avoid the Power Struggle
The key for parents: stay calm, consistent and neutral. Pressuring children only makes picky eating worse.
Telling your child they must try one bite, celebrating excessively when they do eat a vegetable or resorting to negotiation (“three more bites then dessert”) can actually reduce their desire to eat. It also creates a dynamic that only reinforces the power struggle.
Instead, recognize the division of responsibility when it comes to eating. Parents decide what food is served, when it’s served and where meals happen. Children decide whether to eat and how much to eat. As a parent, you can’t force your child to eat; recognizing this is critical to reducing the mealtime tug‑of‑war and creating a calmer, more predictable environment for the entire family.
Exposure, Not Pressure
Young children often need repeated, low‑pressure exposure to a new food before trying it. Offering broccoli once likely isn’t enough. It’s important to offer it repeatedly, without commentary, bribing or coaxing.
Trying new foods is more than just ingesting them. Touching and smelling are steps toward tasting and acceptance. Involving children in food preparation – washing vegetables, stirring batter, mixing ingredients – lets them gain familiarity without the pressure of having to eat. Inclusion in this process increases curiosity and that curiosity is often followed by a willingness, or even desire, to try the food.
It’s also important for parents to model desired eating habits. If you want your child to try salmon but you’re eating pizza, they’re unlikely to want to eat the salmon. Daily family mealtimes – often dinner in busy households – where you’re modeling manners and eating the food you want your child to eat is key.
The Importance of Routines
For young children, routines provide structure, predictability and comfort. A consistent meal and snack schedule helps children learn what to expect and can reduce not only their anxiety around mealtimes, but parental anxiety, too.
Notably, there is no right or wrong schedule; every family needs to figure out what works best for their circumstances. What matters is setting a schedule and maintaining consistency. For example, if you provide a snack between breakfast and lunch, do it every day, not just a few days a week. This helps children know what to expect and feel comfortable.
Schedules also help parents resist “secondhand cooking.” When a child refuses the meal offered, parents often scramble to make alternatives, but this teaches the child if they hold out long enough, a preferred food will arrive. Instead, calmly remind your child when the next snack or meal will be: “OK, you don’t want to have the yogurt and fruit. That’s fine, but I’m not going to make something else. Snack time is in two hours.” This builds trust and reduces anxiety for everyone.
With patience, low-pressure exposure and consistent routines, most picky eaters gradually broaden their palates and mealtimes become more enjoyable for the whole family. For more parenting guidance, including the Parenting with Goddard blog and webinar series, visit the Parent Resource Center at GoddardSchool.com.
Photos courtesy of Shutterstock
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Child Health
Pediatric Cancer Goes Beyond a Victory Bell: How Research and Innovation Improve Survivorship Rates
(Feature Impact) For every tear-jerking video found online of a child ringing a bell that signifies a cancer journey victory, there are dozens, if not more, people working behind the scenes. From leading minds in cancer research to doctors, nurses and support staff, a vast network of people and decades of medical advancements make those moments possible.
In fact, in the last 10 years, the FDA approved 10 new immunotherapies and 20 molecularly targeted therapies to treat pediatric cancers, according to the American Association for Cancer Research. Those breakthroughs – and the children they impact – come with a cost, which is why Hyundai Hope on Wheels has served as a pioneer in increasing survival rates by investing $303 million in pediatric cancer research over nearly three decades.
Those funds have supported more than 1,600 grants to 210 institutions, leading to new insights into cancer biology, clinical trials and new drug development while bringing hope at all stages of a child’s cancer journey.
However, there remains work to be accomplished. According to a survey conducted by Atomik Research on behalf of Hyundai Hope on Wheels, 46% of U.S. adults believe that a child ringing a hospital bell after cancer treatment signifies the child is cancer-free and their medical journey is largely over. The reality is more nuanced than that. In fact, more than one-third of respondents said they’re not familiar with the term cancer survivorship or they have heard the term but don’t fully understand what it means.
Many health care organizations define survivorship as beginning at the time of diagnosis and continuing through treatment and beyond. According to the American Association for Cancer Research, children who survive cancer face several long-term physical and psycho-social challenges due to their cancer and treatment, including planned surgeries, additional rounds of radiation or other forms of medical treatment to address common physical challenges stemming from chemotherapy.
Survival rates continue increasing with scientific and technological breakthroughs, up from 75% to 85% in nearly three decades, representing roughly 40,000 more children surviving their diagnoses. More than 3 in 4 U.S. adults are encouraged by that progress.
For survivors, treatment is just the beginning. Research, follow-up care and long-term funding determine what comes next, and every grant funded and every survivorship program backed means more children reaching adulthood.
According to the survey, more than 80% of adults said they’re more likely to support organizations that fund survivorship services, creating opportunities to fund crucial research and support for children facing pediatric cancer. Collaboration among leading minds, made possible by funding from organizations like Hyundai Hope on Wheels, has led to the development of comprehensive approaches to help children thrive during life after cancer, including enhanced medical records, AI integration, socioemotional support and combatting long-term side effects.
Find more information and ways you can join the fight by visiting HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
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Child Health
A child rings the cancer bell. Here’s what that moment doesn’t show
Cancer Bell: A child who’s been treated for cancer walks down the hall of a medical facility, nurses and doctors smiling at them from all corners of the room. The child rings a bell, and everyone cheers as the kid hugs their loved ones. These heartfelt videos appear regularly across social media. What helps make each of those moments possible is decades of research and innovation. For every bell-ringing child whose video goes viral online, a longer health journey awaits.
A child rings the cancer bell. Here’s what that moment doesn’t show
(Sheeka Sanahon) A child who’s been treated for cancer walks down the hall of a medical facility, nurses and doctors smiling at them from all corners of the room. The child rings a bell, and everyone cheers as the kid hugs their loved ones. These heartfelt videos appear regularly across social media. What helps make each of those moments possible is decades of research and innovation. In the last 10 years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 10 new immunotherapies and 20 molecularly targeted therapies to treat pediatric cancers, according to the American Association for Cancer Research.
For every bell-ringing child whose video goes viral online, a longer health journey awaits. Hyundai Hope on Wheels, which has funded pediatric cancer research for nearly three decades, commissioned a survey to understand how much Americans know about that journey.
As September marks Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, what that journey actually looks like is worth understanding. According to the survey, 46% of U.S. adults believe that a child ringing a hospital bell after cancer treatment signifies the child is cancer-free and their medical journey is largely over. The reality is more nuanced than that.
When cancer survivorship begins
Many health care organizations define survivorship as beginning at the time of diagnosis and continuing through treatment and beyond. Understanding survivorship this way helps recognize that a child’s cancer journey is about more than reaching the end of treatment. It also includes managing long-term physical, emotional and medical needs that may continue for years to come.
More than a third of U.S. adults say they’re not familiar with the term cancer survivorship or they have heard theterm but don’t fully understand what it means.
According to the American Association for Cancer Research, children who survive cancer face several long-term physical and psycho-social challenges due to their cancer and treatment. Children could face planned surgeries, additional rounds of radiation, or other forms of medical treatment to address common physical challenges stemming from chemotherapy. Every child’s medical treatment plan is different based on their specific needs, but one thing is clear: Pediatric cancer survivors need ongoing support as they navigate long-term health challenges.
Supporting children to live long, full lives
More than 3 in 4 U.S. adults are encouraged by the progress in pediatric cancer, up 5 points from last year. There’s good reason to be hopeful, too. According to the American Cancer Society, the survival rate among pediatric cancer patients has increased from 75% to 85% in nearly three decades, representing 40,000 more children surviving their cancer diagnosis.
Survival rates continue to increase thanks to breakthrough science and technology, and higher standards of care. Pediatric cancer research has led to new insights into cancer biology, clinical trials, and new drug development.
More than 8 in 10 adults say they’re more likely to support organizations that fund survivorship services, which creates more opportunities to fund crucial research and support for children facing pediatric cancer.
Methodology
Hyundai Hope on Wheels commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 1,005 adults throughout the United States. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points with a confidence level of 95%. Fieldwork took place March 19-26, 2026. Atomik Research, part of 4media group, is a creative market research agency.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
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Family
The back-to-school haircut is more than hair: Survey finds 94% of parents say their son’s appearance affects their confidence
(Sheeka Sanahon) Parents spend years styling their children, picking out just the right outfits for special occasions, choosing a haircut that suits their sweet little faces, and doing their best to keep up with how quickly they outgrow their shoes. Just as parents begin to master all the moving parts, a new variable gets thrown into the equation: the opinions of the child whose every style decision they once made.
According to survey data from Sport Clips Haircuts, a sports-themed haircutting franchise specializing in haircuts for men and boys, 84% of parents say that by the time their son reaches middle or high school, he cares significantly or somewhat more about his appearance. According to Psychology Today, physical appearance is important for adolescent children as a means to express identity and to fit in with the norms of their peers. What has changed is the amount of pressure on today’s generation of children to present themselves well; 71% of parents surveyed by Sport Clips say boys today face more pressure to look put together going into a new school year than they remember from their own school years.
Preteen and Teen Boys are Developing Their Own Sense of Style
The surveyed parents report that in the coming days and weeks before the new school year begins, more than a third of their preteen and teen boys ask for a back-to-school haircut. Another 22% of parents say both they and their boys bring it up around the same time. That’s more than half of boys already thinking about how they’ll show up on the first day.
If you thought mom and dad’s opinions mattered regarding the type of haircut they want, think again. More than half of boys ages 11 to 17 know exactly what haircut they want to get before the school year begins. Parents report that many of them are inspired by celebrities, athletes or people they follow online.
The Confidence Connection
As children get older and express more desire for choosing their style, giving them the choice to pick what’s right for them can be a great opportunity to boost their confidence. Ninety-five percent of parents say there is a connection between how confident their son feels about his appearance and how he shows up at school, in sports and social activities. Young boys and their parents are thinking about more than just the haircut. Finding clothes that their son feels good in, as well as talking through what he’s most excited and most nervous about for the new school year, are all part of the preparation.
The Back-to-School Checklist
This checklist creates an important set of traditions to get the school year started off on the right foot. While 71% of parents say getting their son a fresh haircut or new hairstyle has become a reliable part of their back-to-school routine, 20% notice their child shift back into school mode when they pick out their first day outfit. For 19%, it’s when he packs or organizes his bag.
The Styles Middle School and High School Boys Are Asking For
So what styles are boys most likely to ask for to start this school year? According to the survey data, 30% of boys want a tapered fade like the haircut U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese wore during the 2026 World Cup. Nearly a quarter (24%) of respondents said their child wants a classic cut, like the kind of style YouTuber Caylus Cunningham tends to wear. Only 10% of boys are requesting a longer or shaggy style, like actor Jacob Elordi, and even fewer are looking for fringe bangs, the broccoli cut (which is short on the sides and curly on top) or a buzz cut.
A few parents aren’t sure what kind of look their child is going for this school year. Eight percent say they’re not even sure what to call the hairstyle preferred by the boys in their lives.
Methodology: Sport Clips Haircuts commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 1,000 adults throughout the United States. The sample consists of U.S. parents of boys aged 11 to 17. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points with a confidence level of 95 percent. Fieldwork took place between July 9 and July 15, 2026. Atomik Research, part of 4media group, is a creative market research agency.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock (children on school bus)
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