I am very lucky, my kids aren’t generally a problem at mealtimes, but I have experienced those moments when meals can be a trial.
In addition, I have definitely seen many of my friends battle with a fussy eater. They have tried every tactic available in order to get their children to consume a nutritionally balanced meal without a battle of wills.
The conclusion I have come to after searching high and low for solutions to help is that there may often not even BE a specific one; as with many parenting challenges, there is often no “quick fix.” Every child is different and what works for one, may not necessarily work for another.
The main thing is to try and take comfort in knowing that you are not alone with your fussy eater shenanigans. In fact, pretty much every child, at some point, will go through a fussy stage. Some “stages” may very well feel like they are going on for a bl**dy, long time as well.
Here are some tips that will hopefully help your children to eat sensibly, and may even give you a chance to keep hold of your sanity.
Enjoy mealtimes together as a family
Often work commitments and childcare can stand in the way, but you should not dismiss the importance of eating meals together. Eating your meal at the same time will encourage them to copy you, potentially eating more than they normally would AND reducing the chance of them being too fussy about what they do eat. Well, provided you aren’ too fussy of course…. Niether of my kids like tomatoes, and guess what, neither do I…. *guilty as charged*
Cook a meal together
Where possible, let your child help you prepare their meals. Asking your child to pick a recipe can be fun too You can look through the cookery books together, and then perhaps wander around the shops getting the ingredients too. Not only can all this be fun, it is mightily educational too ;-)
There are lots of activities that the children will enjoy helping you out with in the kitchen and beyond; the washing, laying the table, preparing fruit and veg (of course supervised) and letting them touch and smell foods that are new to them. I have found that the children are more focused. It also means that it is one less chore for me to complete too *bad mummy*
Reduce portion size
This may be, to some, an obvious point, but it can be neglected. Our children’s tummys are not as big as ours, so their portions should reflect this. It is far more beneficial for a child to have a small plate of food and eat it all, than be overwhelmed by a large plate and not touch a single thing.
Remain calm
This is one of the biggest tips I can offer; but the hardest to actually achieve.
Eating is already a stressful time for ‘fussy eaters’ so try and avoid making mealtimes even more stressful for them. Getting annoyed, cross and frustrated is unlikely to make the situation any better. Just keep reminding yourself that this phase will pass in time, and for the moment try and breathe through it.
I know, more than anyone, how difficult this actually is…but we are in it together! ;-)
It is also worth trying not to make an alternative if you child has refused something you have given them. Sometimes this can mean that they realise that if they don’t have x (say carrots); mummy will just bring them y (say chips!) anyway which I really, really like! :-D
Remove any distractions
Whilst the children are having dinner, it can be very easy to put them in front of the TV to give you some peace. As difficult as this can be, try and focus on the task in hard. Make mealtimes a social point; an opportunity to discuss the day and enjoy each other’s company. We don’t allow toys at the table either – mealtimes are for eating, and chatting and pretty much nothing else. People have remarked at how strict this can seem, particularly as we have always done this, even when the kids were tiny babies. However, it does seem to work – mealtimes are for eating, they aren’t for getting distracted by the car that mummy let me bring to the table.
I hope these tips will help you make progress with your ‘fussy eaters’. I have learnt over the years that patience and a good routine gets us all a long way.
Photo credit: Stuart Miles / freedigitalphotos.net
Very good tips
We find cooking together really helps
I wasn’t a fussy eater at all – but am starting to be :( Mummy keeps calm, and tries to only have healthy food on offer x
All great tips , my son still is a fussy eater as a teenager
Great tips, I will have to give some more of these a go with my fussy 3 year old!
great tips, getting kids involved in preparation seems to help the most for me.
I am so loving some of these! i need pass them on to my friend her little one is super fussy!
Great tips!
Kitty used to be a little fussy but we found that with most foods she started to ask to try it after seeing us all eat it it a few times first x
Yoiu are absolutely right in all your tips. I have blogged about this myself, as it seems to be a subject a lot of people struggle with. My son was an extreme fussy eater, but with a lot of patience and time, he now it’s relatively normally, so it is something that is definitely worth perservering with!
My daughter can be really fussy and it’s very hard to stay calm sometimes, I do try hard though!
Thank god i havent had to deal with this with my little one. But i am sure there will come a time so thank you for your tips
We grow our own vegetables together and that has worked amazingly for our oldest – and yet our middle child is now fussy! I tell myself it will pass, most things do!
i actually have been lucky although my younger son goes through stages where only cheese and chicken will do but i just get him to make his own meal and he eats it
Great tips lovely, luckily my boy isn’t a fussy eater – yet! xx
My son was such a fussy eater as a kid, and now that he is a teen, he’s still quite fussy! I know I lost my patience a lot when he was little, as I felt like a failure as a mother, but now he’s a strapping young man, I really didn’t need the stress!
Remaining calm is something I struggle with when it comes to my nephew, he only has to dislike the colour of something and that is it, he refuses to eat it x
Great tips. I find that sometimes my kids will eat something when it is presented differently, they may eat mashed carrots but not sliced.
My son used to love making pizzas with vegetable faces when he was young. Preparing fruit and vegetables and cooking these together really does appear to help children become more accepting of these foods.
I totally agree with all of those and would add grow food together. My boys eat pretty much everything we grow and we have a friend with a really picky child and he even tried some of the things he saw growing at mine
Good tips but I would add another – STOP SNACKS. Children do not need to eat between meals, we expect babies to go more than a couple of hours yet hand toddlers and older children snack after snack sending blood sugar on a roller coaster. Hungry kids are less likely to be fussy kids, fussiness never existed before food was so available ;)
I have noticed that since letting my son, who is a very fussy eater, choose how own meals at the supermarket he has eaten better x