Many toddlers and young children go through phases of “picky eating” and its very normal for
parents and carers to feel frustrated, anxious and worried. As a mother to two little boys, I have found feeding them can be challenging and hard work (that’s without even mentioning the stress of all the mess they create!). It can sometimes feel like a battle that you will never win but it will get easier and following some of my tips below can definitely help the situation and prevent it becoming anything other than another “phase” in them growing up and becoming more independent.
1) Relax, Relax, Relax. Take the pressure away at meal-times, children pick up on anxiety so
the more anxious you are, the less likely they will eat.
2) Make meal-times fun and encourage your child to get involved with the cooking process-
preparing foods, setting the table etc. Messy play is a great way to get children to become
more familiar with different textures and foods. The more familiar a child is with a food, the
more likely they will try it.
3) Family meals and role modelling- have mealtimes together as a family with no distractions-
TV/Ipads etc can help. Show your child that you enjoy the foods you want them to eat.
4) Try not to force feed/start coaxing/negotiating with a child to get them to eat-this will only
make the problem worse.
5) Don’t offer alternatives. The parent decides on what is for dinner and the child can decide
how much they eat
6) Offer lots of praise when your child tries something new/finishes most of their meal. Take
away uneaten food without comment.
7) Limit mealtimes to 20-30 minutes. Making a toddler/child sit for longer.
8) Don’t overload the plate with food-offer small amounts then you can always offer a second
helping if they want more.
9) Always offer one food that you know the child will like-this will make your child feel more
comfortable and you can relax a bit more knowing they will eat something from the plate.
10) Offer two courses at meals- savoury course followed by a sweet course. This increases
variety the child has at a meal and can help ensure the toddler/child gets enough calories
and nutrients from the meal.
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