1. Vow not to fight over food
Right from the start, promise yourself that you're not going to wage war with your child over food  -- at least not so much that you find yourself worn out, frustrated and feeling like a failure on a regular basis. Life's too short to pick food fights, and you're not likely to win them anyway. Instead, commit to some basic mealtime rules (such as our tried-and-true favorite, the "no thank you bite," wherein your child is expected to have one taste of everything you serve but retains the subsequent right of refusal) and then apply them calmly and consistently.

2. Remind yourself that it's not (just) about the bite
Eating is an activity that is quite susceptible to a young child's natural tendency to rebel. Your tot's declarations of independence stand to throw a wrench into the dietary plans you have for him and assert themselves in the form of food refusals  -- including all-out tantrums  -- at just about the same time you nobly set out to introduce him to a wider range of foods and teach him the social graces of eating. So try to remember that mealtime is no exception to the rule that your child is going to test your limits. If you realize that he's doing exactly what he's supposed to be doing at this particular stage of development, you may be able to handle food mutinies with less frustration.

3. Never let them see you sweat
We could just say "Don't sweat it," but our years of experience tell us that unless you're far more calm, cool, and collected than we are as parents, you're going to stress about feeding anyway. Instead, we suggest perfecting your ability to hide it when you do. When it comes to babies, it may seem as if they aren't aware of how much of an emotional investment you have riding on getting them to eat their rice cereal or drink out of a cup, but they nevertheless do sense stress, and it often does rub off on them. If your little one realizes just how much his consumption of a spoonful of pureed carrots means to you, he may refuse it until he's made you crazy  -- just because he can. Do your best to stick to your guns, but if he won't eat something after a few attempts, maintain your composure and try again next time.

4. Keep food for food's sake
This important peacekeeping strategy seems, on its surface, relatively straightforward: Just teach children to eat when they're hungry, drink when they're thirsty, and refrain from doing so when they're not. Sound simple? You'd think it would be since we're all born with a natural drive to consume only as much as our bodies need. Yet by the time we reach adulthood, and often far sooner than that, these internal cues are overshadowed by external ones, and too many of us eat and drink for reasons that have very little to do with hunger or thirst. It's pretty safe to say that enjoying a movie really shouldn't require a bucket of buttered popcorn, and a lot of football fans would be a fair bit slimmer if they didn't associate Monday Night Football with beer and a bag of chips. When you find yourself on the verge of offering your child food as comfort, convenience, or reward, try a different tactic. To quiet your squirmy child on the way to grandma's, for example, pull out a special "car toy" that only appears when the wheels are in motion. Perfection in this area is unattainable: Sometimes the breast or bottle or a healthy treat, like banana yogurt, for comfort's sake is simply a necessity. But as soon as you start relating feeding to hunger and not much else, you'll see everything from Cheerios to desserts in a new light.

Adapted from Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor, and a Bottle of Ketchup, by Laura A. Jana, M.D., FAAP, a pediatrician and mother of three, and Jennifer Shu, M.D., FAAP, a pediatrician and mother of a son. Published by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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