Picky eaters - making children's mealtimes easier

Family meals should be a happy time of sharing food around the table while discussing the day’s news together. This ideal is often far from the truth. Most parents of young children will experience fussy eaters and picky eating at one time or another. In fact, 75% of Irish parents have endured the tears and tantrums of faddy eaters at mealtimes. This can be a challenge. It can try your patience as yesterday’s favourite pasta is todays ‘Yeuch’ meal. In a few cases, children’s picky eating can cause concern about whether they are getting enough wholesome nutrition and not just a steady diet of chicken nuggets. According to the HSE, the Irish Health Service, faddy eating is a phase that children go through when they don’t eat well or refuse certain foods. With the knowledge that this is a temporary situation, we take a look at ways to survive faddy eating, to avoid mealtime conflict and encourage positive eating habits.

Food preferences, banning snacks and avoiding dinner time battles

Young children are developing their own personalities, temperaments, likes and dislikes. In asserting themselves, they can often be very loud, very rude about your cooking and very upset about having to eat something they don’t want. Don’t buy into the panic! As much as possible, stay chilled and unphased about the untouched food and the tantrums. It is not easy and it might be useful to remember that it is a phase and your adult child will probably have a very sophisticated palate. Hard to imagine that as they throw peas on the floor! Of course, every child will have foods they love and foods that they just don’t like. You might be surprised to learn that it can take between 10 and 15 attempts to introduce a new food before it is accepted by a fussy eater. Try to offer a variety of foods at each meal and make sure there is something they enjoy eating on their plate too. Ban snacks and drinks before mealtimes. Don’t overfill their plate as this can be off-putting. Check the HSE guidelines for portion sizes. You can always give a little more if they clear their first helping. Keep the mood light, the TV and screens off and as few distractions as possible. A meal should last about 30 minutes at most and then it is recommended that you take away uneaten food without any comment.

Dos and don’ts of happier mealtimes

There is no magic solution when you have a faddy eater. No quick fix answer to fussing or refusing food. But here are some pointers which you can try to take the pressure off a bit and ease the anxiety that can creep into mealtimes with a fussy eater.

• Don’t reward eating with sweets or desserts.
• Do eat as a group, and especially with other children.
• Don’t punish a child for not eating.
• Do ask your child to assist with the cooking of the food.
• Don’t give negative attention to the fussy eating.
• Do praise good things about their eating, thanking them for trying new food.
• Don’t compare with other children as appetites and preferences vary greatly.
• Do keep mealtimes lighthearted and positive.
• Don’t make something else.
• Do let them fill up on the healthy part of the meal that they like.
• Don’t take it personally.

Making Mealtimes fun

Lots of parents and caregivers think that three meals a day is the normal eating style. It is for adults, but some children are grazers and prefer to eat a little and often. They may enjoy a plate of raw bite sized cucumber and carrots but will turn their nose up at the cooked varieties at dinner. Rules around eating might need to be relaxed a little to make eating together fun again. Eat outside in good weather and encourage, even the most fussy of eaters to join the family at the table where possible. Even wee ones can enjoy family mealtimes with a safe and comfortable high chair. This is also where food can be explored with first tastes and where the transition from spoon feeding to baby led weaning to independent eating can be seamless. Booster seats will bring toddlers up to table height so they can appreciate the spread of food on offer. Involving a small child in the planning, shopping, cooking, and serving of your family meals is a great way to encourage better eating habits. Some experts advise that a self-serving style meal, where children can help themselves from a choice of food, works well in encouraging independence and lessening the likelihood of battles. At Baby Accessories, we have a wonderful selection of child friendly, practical tableware that will reduce the stresses of mealtimes by making the table a brighter place and by giving children cutlery and bowls specifically designed for their small hands and mouths.

Worrying whether your child is getting enough food

There may situations where food issues are more than just a temporary fussiness. If you have any concerns or feel that your child is not eating enough it is advisable to seek medical help. Perhaps you worry that they may be lacking in vitamins due to unhealthy eating. Keep a record of their food intake over a few days, including snacks and meals at day care or school. This will allow your public health nurse, practice nurse, pharmacist or doctor to assess and advise. A supplement of chewable multivitamins may be helpful in ensuring that they are getting all their growing bodies need.
A calm, realistic and practical approach to children’s mealtime will help in moving along to better eating habits. Hopefully, your child will begin to see food as a world of exciting new tastes and sensations just waiting to be explored. For now, serve the endless plain pasta, the cheese and bread, or whatever their particular food fad currently is, and keep calm. It just a phase!