Everyone with children can remember the white food stage. You remember, when the little blighter would only eat plain pasta and rice, perhaps a little chicken and slices of white bread. Or was that only my children?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Fussy eaters can drive you mad and make family dinners a battleground. In their book The Feel Good Family Food Plan Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark address the different life stages of feeding a family, from babies to teenagers.
Fussy eaters can raise their ugly heads at any time.
"It's very normal for younger kids to go through a fussy stage," Dr McMillan says.
"It's actually part of normal development to be wary of new foods - kids have to learn these are not harmful."
The easiest way for children to learn about new foods is seeing their parents and other adults eat them, so don't expect them to love brussel sprouts if you're turning your own nose up at them.
Here are some tips for families to deal with fussy eaters.
If they won't eat the meal, don't bow to pressure to give them something you know they will eat instead. That simply reinforces that they get their own way, making it harder and harder to break the cycle.
Give them some say in what the meal will be. You might say, "Shall we have roast chicken tonight or a chicken pasta?" or give them a choice of vegies - "Would you like carrots or peas with your fish."
Encourage them to try everything on the plate and, if they tasted it and really dislike it, they can leave it. But emphasise there is nothing else - this is the meal.
It can take up to 20 times for a child to accept a new food, so don't give up after one rejection. Try giving them a new food alongside familiar foods. If it is rejected, then don't make a fuss. Simply try again another time.
Rest assured that your child will not starve. We spend so much time when they are babies trying to ensure they have a full tummy so they sleep better that we often find it hard to let that go as they get older. If they don't eat at one meal, you can bet they will at the next when they are then really hungry. Just be sure you don't allow them to fill up on snacks in between.
The Feel-Good Family Food Plan: Everything you need to feed your family well, every day, by Dr Joanna McMillan and Melissa Clark. Murdoch Books. $35.
Karen Hardy
I've covered a few things here at The Canberra Times over the years, from sport to education. But now I get to write about the fun stuff - where to eat, what to do, places to go, people to see. Let me know about your favourite things. Email: karen.hardy@canberratimes.com.au
I've covered a few things here at The Canberra Times over the years, from sport to education. But now I get to write about the fun stuff - where to eat, what to do, places to go, people to see. Let me know about your favourite things. Email: karen.hardy@canberratimes.com.au
