Mom's sneaky method to get her child to eat new foods goes viral and sparks debate

Kid refuses to touch green vegetables? Simply give them a fresh new name, says marketing expert Nicole Ramirez. “Motherhood is just marketing,” Ramirez, 33, began a now-viral post on . “My toddler hates fish but loves chicken.

So last night, for dinner, I told him the salmon was ‘Beach Chicken.’ He cheered, ‘Yay! Beach Chicken!’ — and ate the whole thing.” “It’s not lying; it’s rebranding,” she explained.



“Know your customer.” And she tells TODAY.com in an interview that she's sticking by her tactics, despite some criticism.

Ramirez, who lives in Austin, Texas, calls her 2-year-old son, Declan, a “very picky eater.” Instead of arguing with him, she says she taps into her advertising expertise to find a solution. For instance, when Declan declared broccoli the enemy, Ramirez offered him dinner with a side of bushy “trees” — and it worked.

“We also do things like, ’This meal was sponsored by ‘Paw Patrol’,’” Ramirez tells TODAY.com. “It’s all about finding creative ways to get your child on board with something.

” Reactions to Ramirez’s LinkedIn post were mixed, with some folks expressing concern that Declan might question his mother’s credibility in the future. Ramirez isn’t worried about Declan developing trust issues, pointing out that while her family celebrates Christmas, they don’t emphasize Santa Claus. “What are your thoughts on leprechauns and Santa and the Easter Bunny? That’s the question I posed to people who say me calling fish 'chicken' is lying,” Ramirez says.

“And guess what? They had no rebuttal.” Rachel Paula Abrahamson is an entertainment journalist-turned-lifestyle reporter living in Boston. She covers parenting, pop culture, and news for — and fancies herself an expert on all things twin-related! In 2024, Rachel received an NBC Gem Award (Going the Extra Mile) for her contributions to NBC.

Rachel lives in the Boston area with her husband, their two daughters, and labrodaughter Asti. Follow her on ..