Well, although I eat nearly everything, both my children don't. My son has never eaten an egg or baked beans, my daughter rarely eats rice or couscous. I am lucky as they have healthy appetites but I have to be inventive and clever at the same time. Carrots get grated into homemade hamburgers and pasta tomato sauce gets blended prior to serving so they don't recognise the celery or leeks I put into it. Below are some tips to help parents/carers with fussy eaters. I'd love to hear from you with any of your tips and tricks so please post them up on here or on my Facebook page.
- Try and sit down with them as a family as much as possible. Even if you are eating different food to them, they will look at what you are eating and sometimes want to try what you have – and may even like it. This is how I realised that my little boy likes biryani rice although his sister won’t touch rice at all
- When possible get your children to help you prepare/cook the meal. If they are too young, beside you, they could make pretend food with some play dough or even play at doing the washing up in the sink
- Try and vary their meals as much as possible – not every day but once a week at least – even changing how you serve potatoes gets them used to different textures – mash, roast, boiled, oven fries, sautéed
- Kids like sauces. They can find it hard to chew dry food. Try to serve a sauce with their food as much as possible. Even try condiments once in a while such as mayonnaise and ketchup and even plain yoghurt to ensure the meal is not so dry
- Try to limit snacks and sugary drinks between meals. Young children will only eat well when they are hungry
- If they refuse to eat a meal, don’t immediately replace it with something they like. Let them sit at the table for a while and try again, say, ½ hour later. Children will eat when they are hungry but they can use it against you and try to demand something that they do like. They are not silly!
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