‘I don’t like it.’
‘Try it.’
‘I don’t like it.’
‘Go on, give it a try.’
‘I don’t like it.’
‘How do you know if you don’t try it?’
‘I just know.’
‘But how?’
‘I don’t like the look of it’
‘So……how did you know that you would like chocolate when you first saw it? It’s brown and square and boring. But you ate it?’
‘That’s because you gave it to me when I was little.’
‘So, what if I give this to you then?’
‘Nope…… because I don’t like it.’
Don’t you love conversations with children about food? The quote above is so accurate: how is it that a child can’t find shoes, a toothbrush, their homework folder yet can find a miniscule piece of onion in the pasta sauce? I have two children: one dislikes cheese and one dislikes tomato, however they both LOVE pizza. How can that be?
I was that mum who when weaning her baby (the first one – things got a little slacker with the second) would spend hours pureeing organic veggies and freezing them in little cubes. I was so determined that my child would never eat salt, sugar (unless from a fruit source), fast food or drink fizzy pop.
It is impossible.
Unless you live in a bubble.
On another planet.
Your children go to their toddler friend parties and eat fries, chicken nuggets, cake, and they drink orange juice – the one that has never seen the inside of an orange. And you know that you can’t be ‘that’ parent who disapproves. You’re too busy trying to fit in and look like you know what you’re doing with this small human being. Then they have grandparents who simply LOVE to ‘treat’ them whilst they are looking after them. I would come home from work to find my mum filled with glee upon announcing that my child really enjoyed sharing her cream cake, or how cute he looked after eating chocolate biscuits with a face full of brown.
What can you do?
I suppose it is all about balance. It is ok to eat treats, providing they are exactly that; a treat and not a staple food item in your child’s life. However, that said, if I could turn back the hands of time, I would do some things a little differently. Being a parent for the last 12 years has taught me how I would do things if I had the chance again. Still, onwards we go.
If a child is a fussy eater, it places an incredible amount of stress on the parent. I’ve heard parents explain to teachers that their child won’t eat anything green or will only eat white rice and meat. It is hard. I can understand the temptation to give in and feed something fast, sweet and sugary, just to feel that there has been some form of calorie intake.
But there are better ways.
The National Health Service for the UK recommends trying the following:
- Give your child the same food as the rest of the family but remember not to add salt to your child's food. Check the label of any food product you use to make family meals
- The best way for your child to learn to eat and enjoy new foods is to copy you. Try to eat with them as often as you can
- Give small portions and praise your child for eating, even if they only eat a little
- If your child rejects the food, don't force them to eat it. Just take the food away without saying anything. Try to stay calm, even if it's very frustrating. Try the food again another time
- Don't leave meals until your child is too hungry or tired to eat
- Your child may be a slow eater, so be patient
- Don't give your child too many snacks between meals – 2 healthy snacks a day is plenty
- It's best not to use food as a reward. Your child may start to think of sweets as nice and vegetables as nasty. Instead, reward them with a trip to the park or promise to play a game with them
- Make mealtimes enjoyable and not just about eating. Sit down and chat about other things
- f you know any other children of the same age who are good eaters, ask them round for tea. But don't talk too much about how good the other children are
- Ask an adult that your child likes and looks up to eat with you. Sometimes a child will eat for someone else, such as a grandparent, without any fuss
- Changing how you serve a food may make it more appealing. For example, your child might refuse cooked carrots but enjoy raw grated carrot
https://www.nhs.uk
There are books for fussy eaters too, which are worth curling up together and reading:
Little Pea
By Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Jen Corace
Every child knows the familiar refrain “You can’t have dessert until you’ve eaten your dinner.” But what about when you’re a pea? Little Pea has to eat ALL his candy before he can have a few special bites of vegetables. Amusing and filled with bright and fun illustrations, this entire series is a winner.
Bee-Bim Bop!
By Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Ho Baek Lee
This sweet rhyming book shows a little girl eagerly anticipating bee-bim bop (a popular Korean rice dish) for dinner. She helps her mother with the shopping, the food prep, setting the table, and finally settling in for a delicious meal with her family. It’s a great way to introduce your child to different food cultures from an early age.
The Seven Silly Eaters
By Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Marla Frazee
This sweet family story follows a mom who indulges her first child’s picky eating habits, and then her second, and her third, and so on. But by the time she gets to her seventh child, she’s overwhelmed by meeting all of their individual mealtime needs. Fortunately, on her birthday, the children accidentally come up with a perfect solution.
I Will Never Not Ever Eat a
Tomato
By Lauren Child
Lola has zero interest in eating any of her vegetables until her clever brother Charlie explains that they aren’t vegetables at all. Instead, mashed potatoes are clouds from a mountaintop and carrot sticks are twigs from another planet. Can he get her to love her most despised food?
Bread and Jam for Frances
By Russell Hoban, illustrated by Lillian Hoban
This has got to be one of my all-time favorite books, about badger Frances who decides she only likes bread and jam and refuses to try anything different. Instead of trying to dissuade her, her wise parents give her nothing but bread and jam for several days, while everyone else is eating a wide variety of delicious foods. As you can imagine, Frances eventually begs to be allowed to try something new.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
By Eric Carle
I love that The Very Hungry Caterpillar not only introduces very young children to a huge variety of foods — from fruits and vegetables to desserts and meats — but also encourages nutritious eating and portion moderation for healthy growth and development. Not to mention, little holes to stick little fingers through. What more could you want?
Eating the Alphabet:
Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z
By Lois Ehlert
Your child probably already knows apples and bananas and tomatoes, but this clever book showcases fruits and vegetables from all over the world in alphabetical order. And in the back, there are more details about each item of produce for the child who wants to know even more.
Luck of the Loch Ness Monster:
A Tale of Picky Eating
By Alice Weaver Flaherty, illustrated by Scott Magoon
On a very long ship ride to Scotland, a little girl throws her bowl of oatmeal overboard each morning because she hates oatmeal! And every morning, a tiny worm, swimming alongside the ship, gets a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, growing bigger and bigger each day.
Looking back, I realise that as a child, I didn’t like onion. I didn’t like tomatoes either and would spend an age picking out the ‘big bits’ when my dad cooked his family famous chicken paprikash. I don’t think it was necessarily the taste, rather a sensory issue. I simply didn’t like the feel of them in my mouth. Fast forward a few (!) years and I now love onion and tomatoes. In fact, there’s not much that I don’t love. I guess there’s hope for my pizza eating, tomato and cheese disliking children.
