Tips for Coping with Fussy Eaters
The following tips have been very kindly provided by our colleagues in Health Promotion for further information about ‘Being Healthy’ follow the link.
1. Make mealtimes enjoyable and talk about what the child is doing.
2. Try to find meals that the rest of the family enjoys. Include one or two items that the fussy eater avoids. They may try them without knowing they are there.
3. Try to serve smaller portions of food to your child.
4. If your child is playing with their food, quietly remove the plate with no fuss.
5. Do not force the child to eat.
6. Invite a friend to eat with your child. This sometimes works well if the other child has a larger appetite.
7. Invite an adult that the child likes such as a relative or a friend. Sometimes the child will eat for someone else without any fuss.
8. Limit snacks and drinks between meals so the child feels hungrier when it comes to meal times.
9. Offer drinks after a meal so they don’t ruin the appetite. Plain water is best.
10. Offer new foods when your child is hungry as they may be more receptive to new foods. Don’t try new foods when your child is both tired and hungry though!
11. For children under 2, ensure however that regular healthy snacks are offered as under 2’s cannot cope with large amounts of food in one go. Suitable snacks could be: fruit, vegetable sticks, breadsticks, crackers and cheese.
