Is My Child a Fussy Eater?

Children can often be labelled as fussy eaters, when in fact they are just being children. It is very common for kids to go through spells of not eating as much as they did the week before or they may appear to be eating less, when, in reality, they were going through a growth spurt the past two weeks, so they were eating more. It is also natural for children to suddenly dislike food that they have eaten in abundance before, or to suddenly start eating carrots after they were adamant they hated them. If your child sounds a little like this, it is probably normal. If, however, you are genuinely concerned that your child is refusing to eat most foods or insists on just eating food that is yellow or that comes in a packet, you may begin to worry about his/her eating habits.

What You Can Do

First things first, relax! It may be easier said than done, but your child will pick up that you are feeling stressed, which can make matters worse. 99% of the time, it’s the parent that will be more worried than the child, about eating, as for the child it is normal. Once you have learned to bite your tongue and relax in front of your child, here are a few things to keep in mind

• Sit down together to eat as a family to make eating an enjoyable and social experience
• Do offer lots of variety instead of constantly trying to get your child to eat a certain food
• Encourage your children to join you on you go grocery shopping, so they are involved in the whole food process
• Let your children prepare and cook dinner with you, where possible, to understand how fun food can be
• Do try to pay as little attention as possible to the amount of food your child eats at mealtimes, instead focus on asking each other about your day.
• In summer, enjoy picnics or lunch in the garden, so that children know that food is a part of everyday life and not just a chore to get out of the way
• Be aware of portion size as large portions can overwhelm children and they do not need to eat as much as you may think.

What You Should NOT do

You should never force your child to eat, either by spoon feeding or coercing them into eating by bribing or disciplining them if they do not eat. “But they will starve," you may be shouting, well no, they will not be starving unless they are showing signs of a serious illness. There are other things that you will want to avoid too

• Do not show a child that you are upset by them not eating, it will make them feel stressed too
• Do not make a fuss if your child is reluctant to try something, just ignore it and they will eventu-ally try in their own time
• Don’t try to hide vegetables in your child’s food, they will know that you have tricked them and be wary of food in the future
• Avoid snacks and juice in-between meals, so that children are hungry at meal times
• Forget about “here comes the big airplane”. It silly and children will think it is silly too!
• Never tell your child that they cannot have pudding if they don’t eat their main meal. If pudding is seen as a treat, vegetables will be seen as the ‘boring stuff’ that is not enjoyable
• Do not make your child feel guilty about not eating. They are not making mom and dad unhap-py by not eating, mom and dad are feeling unhappy all by themselves.

Meal Ideas

Ideally, you do not want to be cooking separate meals for your children. It is best to introduce chil-dren to as many foods as possible whilst they are young and not to encourage them to ask for something different. Of course, there will be occasions when you fancy a really spicy curry or you want to eat a special dinner with your spouse when the kids are in bed, but for the majority of family meals food should be the same. With that in mind, along with the suggestion to get your kids in-volved in preparing and cooking meals, here are a few suggestions for quick and easy family meals

• Simple Chile-Con-Carne will allow you to experiment with spices and to introduce different types of beans and vegetables.
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• Slow-Cooked Stew can be prepared early in the morning and left to cook all day, while you en-tertain your little helpers or enjoy a busy day at the office.
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• Pasta with Broccoli and Peas is a simple and quick dish, where you can experiment with differ-ent pasta shapes and sauces.
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• Homemade Pizzas are a fun Friday night treat and allow children to add as little or as many in-gredients as they fancy. If you add different options each time, this will encourage your child to try new things.
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• Traditional Apple Pie is another fun dish, that is easy to make and that the whole family will love.
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If you are still struggling to encourage your child to eat more, it may be worth seeking support from your healthcare provider. You will find that more often that not a child will soon find their way and will be eating you out of house and home before you know it.

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