I’m a child nutritionist – the six easy ways to help a fussy eating toddler & the key trick I always use
IF you’ve got a fussy eater at home, the idea of trying to encourage them to accept new foods may seem like an almost impossible task.
But according to celebrity baby and child nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed, who has worked with everyone from Joe Wicks and Stacey Solomon to Millie Mackintosh, you’re not alone.
Fussy eating is one of the most common issues she’s asked about and is one of the reasons she decided to write her new book, How to Feed Your Toddler: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Happy, Independent Little Eaters, which is out on 29th September.
Here, Charlotte reveals her top tips and advice on how to avoid the fussy eating trap and help bring up adventurous little eaters who experiment with new foods.
Avoid Pressure
Charlotte notes there’s one thing that’s key and comes out in all the research – and that’s to avoid pressure.
“Pressure to ‘eat up’ rarely works in the long term and is more likely to actually backfire,” she explains.
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“Being told to eat something simply makes it LESS desirable to your little one – and means next time they’ll probably be even more reluctant to eat it too.”
The child nutritionist goes on to say how she tries to encourage parents to look at it from their toddler’s perspective.
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“If we were given a new food that we’d never tried and someone pressured us to taste, lick, have one bite, how would we feel?” she asks. “It’s best to act very nonchalant about whether they eat the food or not.
“The more you seem like you couldn’t care less the more likely you’ll be to have success with them actually giving new foods a go.”
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Try the food yourself
The baby-feeding expert explains that if you role model trying, tasting, and eating a variety of foods, your children will be more likely to pick up on this behaviour and, in time, do the same.
She says: “Quite often if my son has left something on his plate, I’ll ask if I can eat it myself which allows him to see me enjoying the food without any pressure for him to be eating it himself.”
Variety
Charlotte points out that the more variety you have on offer around mealtimes, the better.
“When toddlers are exposed to variety (even if they don’t eat it) they are more likely to eventually accept and enjoy those foods,” she says.
“So try and avoid the trap of just offering the same meals on repeat each week (we’ve all done it) and try and think about how you can ensure plenty of different colours, flavours, and textures are offered each week.”
She adds that this doesn’t necessarily have to be the main part of the meal – it could just be new sides or snacks.
Give new foods alongside accepted options
The nutritionist, who also shares her advice on social media @sr_nutrition, explains: “This can help increase the acceptance of new foods, especially if we don’t make a big deal out of the new food e.g., by saying ‘now you haven’t tried this before…’
It’s better to just casually offer a small amount of a new food alongside a readily accepted meal or snack.”
Charlotte goes on to warn that persistence is key – and urges parents not to worry if it’s not eaten straight away.
“If you keep trying with this approach, eat the food yourself, and let them see it regularly on their plates, it’ll soon become a ‘familiar’ food item to them, and familiarity is often what leads to acceptance,” she says.
Offer small portions
According to Charlotte, offering small portions helps to reduce food waste, and also is less overwhelming for toddlers if they do decide to give it a try.
“A whole plate of something new is likely to put them off trying it at all,” she explains.
Surprisingly, research has also shown that offering a dip alongside a new food can help to increase willingness to try it too!”
Make mealtimes fun
“Think about making mealtimes fun, engaging places they actually WANT to be at,” advises Charlotte.
She goes on to say how she enjoys offering picnic style or buffet style meals and allowing some autonomy around what food they plate up for themselves.
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The child nutritionist notes that this helps to offer independence and autonomy, which toddlers are often seeking, and take any pressure off.
Other positives include that it shows them a variety – including watching others tuck into a variety, builds familiarity with a variety of both new and accepted foods and makes the mealtime a bit different to the norm, adding something special.
A SUMMARY OF CHARLOTTE'S TOP TIPS
- Avoid any pressure for them to try new foods and instead simply act like you couldn’t care less if they ate it
- Eat new foods yourself
- Don’t make a big deal out of new foods being offered
- Always have a variety on offer
- Offer new foods with already accepted ones
- Offer new foods with accepted dips
- Offer new foods in small amounts
- Offer new foods picnic/buffet style (and without comment)
- Remember it takes time, patience, and practise.