The 'Michael Jordan of Babysitting' Shares Her Hack for Picky Eaters

Parenting toddlers is a constant guessing game of what’s in and what’s out. Even trusted activities or foods can go from fan favorites to tantrum triggers in just a few days. To get through dinner with minimal meltdowns, sometimes it all comes down to getting a little creative.

After decades of working as a babysitter and nanny, Chelsea Anderson—the ‘Michael Jordan of Babysitting’—knows a thing or two about creative solutions. With almost one million followers on Instagram, Anderson regularly shares hacks to make parents’ days a little easier. Her latest picky eater trick hinges on a simple idea: free samples > dinner.

“I can get a picky kid to eat almost anything, okay? Because I was the Michael Jordan of babysitting growing up, and I know two things about kids: one, they hate to eat their meals for some reason, but two, their favorite thing in the whole world is getting samples at Costco,” Anderson says in her now-viral video.

“So here’s what you do: you just take whatever their meal is, cut it up into teeny-tiny pieces, stick toothpicks in them, and put it on a big platter instead of a dinner plate. Then you ask the kids if they would like to try some samples—they always want to try the samples,” she adds. “You can take this even further by putting the food in little cups, like ramekins, and letting them graze that way.”

Anderson notes that you can’t (and shouldn’t) do this for every meal, but on nights when you need a little peace—or anticipate a fight about a certain food, especially one you know they like or will like but won’t touch—call it samples. "Just call it “free samples. Kids go wild for samples,” she says, tying it back to her own childhood love of grocery store freebies. “When I was a little kid, my favourite thing to do was go with my grandma to Costco and try the samples. It’s that easy: cut it up, put toothpicks in it and call it a sample—don’t call it dinner.”

Unsurprisingly, Anderson’s sample idea was a hit with parents in the comments. “My kid literally ate SARDINES at a Costco sample station! Sardines,” shared one mom. “Approximately 95% of getting picky kids to eat is branding,” another parent added. “Also, act like you are actively enjoying it alone. Everybody will want it,” joked one. “God forbid a child yearns for a charcuterie spread,” quipped another commenter. A pediatric dietitian even chimed in to “approve this message,” noting that “novelty works, at least for a while.”

Getting your child to eat, let alone a healthy, balanced diet, is unfortunately one of those parenting challenges that’s often harder than you imagined it would be. If you need help quelling the fights with your picky eater, check out these dietitian- and parent-recommended tips.