How do you get around fussy eaters? Tell us to win £100-worth of picture books! Ends midday 8 February

Introduce different foods early and be persistent if need be.

Make it pleasing to the eyes or if that fails make it camouflaged!

Hide things in bits I know they like. A bit of Swede in some mash, some carrots or mushrooms in bolognese sauce, veg under cheese on a pizza

My son is good at trying new things but my daughter is harder work...I usually say no pudding unless you try it or something like that. Sometimes I'll hide veg e.g. in blolognaise

Eat as a family, with DC given the same food as the adults.
Allow them some choice if possible eg either peas or carrots.
Don't put too much on their plates, but allow them to have more if they want to.
Try fruit dipped in chocolate as a treat if they are fruit refuses.
Allow them to help in the kitchen as much as they are able to, be it baking or cutting up the veg.
When we had nieces/nephews/friends round to eat, I always praised them for trying something new. Sometimes it worked and DD would try it too!

Such an interesting topic as recent studies have been on the television about persistence with food and how to get children to like things that they say they do not like - I have always tried to be inventive and find different ways of cooking vegetables and things to make them fun and then slowly change the recipe to adapt.

Thankfully i dont have overly fussy eaters and are always willing to try new things. Sometimes though when they're going through a "phase" i puree veg and add it to mash potato.

Blend veggies into a sauce to go with pasta... make faces with the ingredients on their plate.. shape cutters such as love hearts for sandwiches went down well with my daughter!

I just went with the flow and did the best I could. He went through a phase where all he'd eat was cheese sandwiches, but he'd have yogurt, and would eat fruit dipped in the yogurt, so pretty healthy overall! Not allowing too many sweet treat alternatives helped!

We play the Superhero game - a mouthful for each superhero he can name. It works for us.

My son is a fussy eater, has been from the age of 2. I however, just continued to cook the same meal for everyone regardless of whether he ate it. He only went to bed hungry a few times as I refused to give him anything else. He is now 11 and would be happy to eat beans on toast every day of the week. He used to sit there for almost an hour when eating his dinner, so I threatened to throw it in the bin, he soon realised that it was best to eat it as he didn't want to go to bed hungry..

By either disguising in other food or saying they have to eat one otherwise no pudding!

SMALLER POTIONS

The only one I've found to sometimes work is bribery! Eat this and you can't eat this/ play on this / after.

Or calling everything something a different name , all meat is chicken. Beef is chicken. Fish is chicken. Etc.

I make pictures on the plate out of the food. Here's my spaghetti face with mushrooms, peppers & onions for the face

I no longer bother with tricks or trying to hide anything - but ignore it but still dish everything up. Occasionally they try something new but I try to let them decide

my daughter is terribly fssyive found getting her more involved in meal times has helped. she enjoys helping to prepare the foods and we make funny faces and shapes out of the food as well

I have really struggled with my daughter and still do even though she is nearly 9 !! I must admit the only way I have managed to get goodness inside her as been bribery..which sometimes works but not all the time :)

I blend lots of cooked veggies into pasta sauces...my 2 daughters love it.

I think persistance is key when it comes to fussy eating. The worst thing you can do is just give in to it and let them eat what they want - you're just making a rod for your own back in the long run! My youngest daughter hated olives for a while (as a lot of children do), so every time I made a pasta dish I chucked some in the sauce...eventually she grew to love them and now she will eat bowls of them on their own!

Firm but fair. Make sure they see us eat what we are asking them to, explain why they should eat healthily, no snacks if they won't eat their meal..... I could go on, but just maintaining a consistent view. It's not been easy for us with either of ours though.

I don't force it but keep putting different foods on her plate and eventually she tries it. My daughter would eat anything when a baby but when she got to around 2.5 just got really fussy. There's no point worrying

Keep trying - I spent years as a child rejecting tomatoes because I loathed the tinned tomatoes served at school. Years later, I tried and now love fresh and cooked tomatoes - but still abhor tinned.....

My twins have been so fussy. I find alot of patience from my end, bribary and reward is helping! Reducing snacking helps build up the appetite. We drew up a list of dinner time rules together which includes trying everything on their plates. Now they are a little older am tryng to get them more involved in preparing dinner too.

Mine will eat lots of fruit and veg if you give it to them as an 'appetizer', "while you wait for dinner to be ready" (ie while I faff about so you actually eat the fruit or veg...)

Well, two of three do. Ds is terrified of most food and has not eaten any fruit or veg in 7 years - will drink juice and smoothies with some persuasion. It wasn't a surprise he got diagnosed with ASD (the only obvious symptom, rest are more subtle), but he is the most amazingly healthy child. He hasn't even had a cold for nearly 4 years. He gets a couple tiny bits on a tasting plate which removes the panic and every month or two he will suck a carrot stick.

I figure his mental health is the vital bit to support here and devote my efforts to telling all the zillions of well-meaning/patronising/know-it-all types to STFU.