If you are trying to expand your child’s repertoire of foods they will eat, my advice is to serve meals family style. Family style is a wonderful way to offer new foods or foods that kids may have refused before in a non-stressful way. It may not seem stressful to have a new food placed on your plate but to a child who is more hesitant about new foods, this could turn a meal into a battle ground of refusing to eat anything. What does family style look like? Place all the food that you will be serving in bowls or plates and place them in the center of the table where everyone can reach them. This includes the “kid”foods you might be serving along with the “adult” food. So, if you are making macaroni and cheese for your son and you are going to be eating chicken breast with rice, each food is placed in a bowl or plate and placed on the table. Your son can help himself to what he likes and you can help yourself to what you like. This way of offering food makes all food equal and allows your son to try foods when he is ready. Believe me, it works. My 7 ½ year old son recently added cheeseburgers, lentil soup and creamed spinach to his food repertoire. These are foods that he has seen since he first started eating, refused for many years, and now happily eats them.