Top tips for fussy eaters

 

If you have a fussy eater, you're not alone! Lots of parents are going through the same thing with their children. Faddy eating is often a phase that young children go through, and frustrating though it is, staying calm and using some of the tips from our fussy eaters pages may help you keep your sanity and get your child's diet back on track!

If your child is becoming increasingly selective with food, it's always worth having a chat with a health care professional for advice.

The tried and tested tips below have been sent in by Netmums who have dealt with their fussy eaters and lived to tell the tale! 

 

 

General tips "From Mums"

 

• You'll think I'm mad... I make the food "talk" so I get it on a fork and say "Hello, can I go in your tummy please?" Or "I'm looking for my friends and they're in your tummy - can I come in please?".Great for 2 - 3 year olds in my experience

• Show by example. If everyone is eating it and there is no alternative then there is more chance they will eat it. If you don't buy the rubbish then how can they eat it. 
  

• My top tip would be have tea with another child who is a good eater and don't criticise your child but be amazed and delighted by the other child "Wow X you are such a good eater."
  Debbie, West Kent

 

• Chill, chill and chill again. Think of the food intake over a week rather than a day and look at the intake and the variety that way. It is probably better than you think. Keep offering favourite and a bit of new food but don't sit anxiously over them - see what happens.
  

 

• If mealtimes are becoming a misery or a battle ground then change the scene. Have tea in a tent or at a small table on tiny chairs with teddies attending. 
  

 

• Use exciting names for foods e.g. we call chicken in sauce 'sticky chicken' or soup 'surprise soup' or green beans 'squeaky beans' ('can you hear them?') and ham up the name... We also pretend we are dinosaurs eating trees when we eat broccoli - adds a bit of fun to the meal!
  

 

• Plonk small portions of the food down and then ignore and see what happens. Don't make a fuss and don't try to encourage or bribe.
  

 

• Take a basic food that they love e.g. bread, and add new things to it bit by bit - so try bread and cheese then eggy bread, then eggs and soldiers... praise any new tries.
  

 

• Just never gave in. My daughter was given her meal each day and if she kicked up a fuss about what was on her plate was told to eat what she wanted and could leave the rest there. The days of not eating never seemed to do her any harm and now she will eat almost anything.
  

 

• When there is something she won't eat or hasn't tried before, I put a very small amount (one mouthful) on her plate and this is called her "No Thank You Mouthful". For whatever reason, now that it has a name, she'll eat it - and several times a "No Thank You Mouthful" has become a "Yes Please Mouthful" because she's discovered that she likes it. If there is something I'm not particularly keen on, I'll tell her that it is my "No Thank You Mouthful" so that she sees me eating it without a big fuss. This has made a huge difference to mealtimes because she had a very very limited number of things she would eat before AND she's a real drama queen - now we manage to sit down and eat a balanced family meal together without her putting on an Oscar-winning tragedy performance!
  

 

Fruit and veg tips 

• One success I have had is with broccoli. My son wouldn't touch it with a barge pole until I got him to pick the one he wanted at the market. Then we came home and he washed it and broke it into pieces and popped it into a saucepan. He made a lot of mess and water went everywhere, but he also had great fun and has eaten broccoli ever since.
  

 

• Hiding goodness in sauces is a good one - chop things up really small - only the most dedicated take the time to pick it out and they will accidentally get some nutrition from it. 
  
  

• My 4-yr old little boy loves orange juice but has never touched oranges. So one day I cunningly suggested an 'orange smile' (segment!) as a 'treat' and told him that footballers have these at half time. Hey presto! He's now requesting 'orange smiles' in his lunch box!"
  

• Try serving up raw veg. My daughter wouldn't touch veg until I discovered she liked everything raw: green beans, carrots, cucumber. I think she likes the crunchiness. I server them up while I'm cooking our main meal.
  

• Leave the fruit bowl in a place where hungry children can help themselves (and hide the biscuits away).