If you have a child that’s a fussy eater, it’s setting you up for your child being a fussy eater for their entire life. That means it is up to you to do eliminate picky eating at mealtime. Your child turning up their nose is more than just annoying, it means your child is missing out on a wide range of foods that are brain boosting nutrients, covered earlier in the book.

Start at an early age to ensure your child enjoys eating a wide variety of foods that are healthy for them, because if you wait until they are older their habits will be more and more ingrained and you’ll be dealing with a nay sayer, and it gets a lot harder to change their mind as they get older.

My Child Will Only Eat.......

Which is it? Spaghetti hoops? Chocolate yogurt? Potatoes? Baked beans? If you haven’t said it yourself about your child, you’ve likely heard another parent, desperate that their child will only eat….

If you didn’t nip your child’s fussy eating when he/she was an infant, there may still be some hope, but you shouldn’t wait any longer – act now. Start by taking a tour through your fridge and cupboards and remove all those items that are so desired by your child. Once you do that, when they ask for them you have the perfect reply – there isn’t any. Replace those items with healthier alternatives. For example, if they love chocolate yogurt you could add carob powder to make it healthier. If they love spaghetti hoops you could cook up whole wheat spaghetti and serve with fresh tomato sauce. Replace soda and fizzy drinks with orange juice and sparkling water. You’ll need to make the changes gradually, and be patient and sneaky if necessary. Oh yes and be persistent – don’t give up.

Your attitude to food is very important. If you don’t like your greens, how do you expect that your child’s going to be fond of them. When you are serving different foods watch the expression on your face, so that it’s not giving your child any hints. If veggies don’t’ excite you, it’s time you retrain your brain so that you can show the necessary enthusiasm for your child.

No Punishment, Reward, Or Bribe

If you have a fussy eater, try removing emotion from mealtime. Most food fads are actually emotionally driven. It’s often a method your child uses to assert their independence, so the fewer emotions you can bring to the table the better it will be. For example, don’t look hurt if your vegetable casserole isn’t the hit you hoped it would be, or if your child eats everything on their plate don’t go crazy with emotion. You should also never punish, reward, or bribe your child to eat a certain food[s], nor should you ever force a food upon them. That’s a sure way for rejection.

From the earliest age, eating needs to be something your child does to satisfy their appetite not to please you. It also doesn’t need to be a tidy activity. Don’t let your need to feed your child govern their eating. Rather it should be governed by their appetite. It’s normal for them to want to eat more food one day than the next.

Eating should be an activity that’s independent. As soon as your child is able to use their hands or spoon, whatever is easiest, and yes messy is good, in fact, encourage them to do so. Don’t worry about manners at an early age. Let eating be fun and then you can teach then tidy eating later.