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

156 replies

SorchaMumsnet · 11/01/2017 09:34

Eat Your People! is a hilarious tale of fussy eating, guaranteed to get children giggling. To celebrate its publication, we want to know how you get around those pickier eating habits.

Do you think vegetables are yucky? Just wait until you see what Monty the Monster has on his plate!

Monty definitely does NOT want to eat his people. He'll eat his vegetables - every single one! - but he will not eat his people.

For your chance to win Eat Your People! and a £100 picture book bundle from Hachette, just tell us: what are your tips for dealing with fussy eaters?

This discussion is sponsored by Hachette and will close at midday on 8 February

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How do you get around fussy eaters? Tell us to win £100-worth of picture books! Ends midday 8 February
OP posts:
Hygellig · 30/01/2017 11:20

Hmmm..don't know if I have any tips! My son (6) is a terrible eater. He lives on pancakes, cheese, bread and fruit and crisps, biscuits and chocolate.
He only gets to have pudding if he has eaten some fruit first. I try to get him to try just a mouthful of new things but he usually spits them out and says they are an insult to his tastebuds.

greyfurrybaby · 26/01/2017 11:40

My son has autism and has an extremely restricted diet.
We have had some success recently by providing him with a "tasting plate". At meal times he get his usual dinner (the same foods every day prepared exactly the same way and displayed in the same way, on a particular section plate). Along side this he has a small section plate containing 4 different new foods for him to try. These new foods are changed each day although sometimes the same food will appear a few days on the trot. There is no pressure for him to eat anything from the second plate and but he gets plenty of praise if he licks or bites anything.
I think having his normal food there is reassuring as he won't go hungry but having the option to try now foods in his own time seems to be working well.

Booklover123 · 23/01/2017 17:43

Try and get the whole family to sit and eat together and encourage conversation and lots of laughs, distraction helps!
Don,t be tempted to spoon feed your fussy eater once past baby stage!
With veg I would blend them up with boiling water and gravy granules and pour lots of thick gravy on food, ideal for sprouts,swede,sweet potato etc!

nbaskers20 · 23/01/2017 14:09

My 2 year old daughter can be fussy but if you let her feed you some of her food then she will take it in turns, mummy try one now you try one.

Bodicea · 22/01/2017 22:55

My son is allergic to a lot of things as well as fussy. It makes for a very limited diet.
I just keep putting stuff in different of him as well as the limited stuff he likes but I don't make a fuss when he doesn't eat it. Hopefully one day he will more. I also get him involved in making dinner and that seems to help.

DrDiva · 22/01/2017 20:52

DS is an excellent eater. But I try to present in fun and different ways - silicone muffin cases in various shapes is a hit - plus he hates monotony (!) so I try and vary things. He helps me cook and knows the rule is that you have to try something before refusing it. With him, this results in him enthusiastically eating said food 9 times out of 10. The fact that he is allergic to dairy has been surprisingly helpful too, as he knows he has to eat a balance of things to keep his tummy healthy and happy.

VilootShesCute · 22/01/2017 18:51

If dd has even the tiniest snack between meals it's world war 3 at dinner. No snacks and helping to prepare food sometimes works. Even then 90% of meals are met with "that's yukky!" It is the most infuriating thing.

MorningHeavyWeight · 22/01/2017 17:58

Introduce new things regularly. Eat together as a family. Involve dc in food preparation and meal planning. Don't take it personally when food is rejected. Ds has only had a few fussy phases and it is so frustrating when he's in one, but fortunately he eats well most of the time, so I can put it in perspective and it isn't too concerning.

Mehfruittea · 22/01/2017 16:39

This was one of my biggest worries when pregnant - I always knew I would return to work full time and trying to put a healthy home cooked meal on the table every day was going to take a monumental effort. More than one meal due to fussy eating was not acceptable. And that's the approach I took.

DS weaned on healthy family cooked meals that combined finger foods with puréed dinner. I must admit my blender was shit and he had lumps of varying degrees early on. There was never ever an alternative offered if he didn't eat dinner. Yogurt or fruit was always offered regardless and quite often he would go back to his main course after dessert.

He's 5 now, had chocolate at 2 so now loves the stuff. He still has the same as we do, but always asks for chocolate after tea. He gets 2 x chocolate buttons or similar size if he's eaten a good amount. He will still often go back to tea after chocolate!

My advice, unless there are medical reasons, don't ever give alternatives. Your kitchen is not a rotating carousel of options to lick and spit out. One nutritious meal made with love is all that's needed. (And edible glitter for sparkling broccoli is not pandering to fussiness. It's all in the presentation! Wink )

dragonfly63 · 22/01/2017 14:27

I used to make a plate of whatever it was that I wanted my daughter to eat, making it look really gorgeous and inviting. I would give her a plate of whatever she usually ate and I would have the lovely one. We would sit together to eat them and she would almost always want the one that I had, which we would then share. By the time she was five she was eating virtually everything and anything and still does years later.

laurzj82 · 22/01/2017 12:28

My DD 2.9 is very fussy. What seems to work for us is

  1. Don't make a huge deal of it
  2. Get her to "help" prepare
  3. Giving her a choice of two healthy options i.e. carrots or peas on the side
  4. Perserverence!!
FastForward2 · 22/01/2017 11:26

IMHO there is no such thing a a fussy eater, just fussy, stressed, parents who are constantly bomdarded with marketing and parenting 'advice' about what and how much their infant/toddler should eat. They will eat what you give them if they are hungry and do not have anxiety about food. Parents are victims from the first hours when advised on how many ounces milk and when to feed. The anxiety caused by well-meaning midwives and health visitors telling parents their child is not the right weight gets passed on to the child.
My 1st was undiagnosed coeliac and I was the worst anxious mother trying allsorts to get him to eat, most of which got vomited back up 2 hours later. He was short but stocky, as we all are in our family, so he appeared to be the correct weight for his height. Then on diagnosis I descovered he was probably actually in pain and I was effectively poisoning him. From that day on I decided never to argue with a child about food. Provide them with proper food, avoid processed food, let them decide. Relax.

For families where the damage has already been done and a 'fussy eater' has been created? Again. Relax. Go for a walk. Go to the park or playground, provide healthy snacks in the park/playground and just forget about mealtimes.

Anononoo · 22/01/2017 09:32

Offer small bits of things, so it is not overwhelming. Eating togethe at table and keep offering things meal after meal. Eventually they try and often they like!

lizziefield1982 · 22/01/2017 09:11

My DS eats well all day, but almost can't be bothered when it comes to dinner time. So I serve him a portion as I would regardless, he gets the same food as us every time. If he doesn't want to try it or eat much of it that's fine. I am sure it's just a phase and the less fuss we make the better. He has to wait for everyone else to finish still, and we don't make a fuss of it, just chat normally as we would if he was eating etc. Then just before bed we offer him on slice of bread and butter. That's his only alternative. It's what my parents did to us and none of us are fussy in the long run!

Timefor2 · 22/01/2017 09:10

I focus on what she eats within the week rather than agonise about one specific meal and find overall it's reasonably balanced (for a two year old!). I do tend to over rely on 'try X and you can have an apple/yogurt for pudding' type negotiations but they really work here and many 'refuse to try' foods are now on the accepted foods list. Overall I think trying to avoid getting to stressed about it is the only way forward - avoiding battles at meal times. I tend to try new foods more at lunch too and stick to more accepted foods at dinner time when she's likely to be more tired.

ohlittlepea · 22/01/2017 07:24

I try to ignore the fussiness wherever I can and give little attention to the stuff that's not being eaten but positive commments on the stuff that is. I keep serving the whole meal on the plate and find things start getting eaten again.
We try to use positive language around food so just say 'you don't feel like peppers today? If you don't try them you might be missing out'.
We eat together whenever possible.
I'm a little anxious about food as my dh has a history of having a very limited diet but so far dd seems to be doing ok 👌

Lovewatchingrainfall · 22/01/2017 00:33

I found the way way is distraction wether it be talking to them, reading to them or even having the tv on if you have to.

Also making it fun so bright plates, fun cutlery. Funny shaped pieces of bread etc.
Try not to stress. If they see you are stressed it will make it worse

CopperPan · 22/01/2017 00:23

For us the best approach has been to find some healthy food they like - I don't care if there's a lot of food they refuse to eat, as long as some of the stuff they do eat is reasonably healthy. It's also been good to try out different types of foods, so we try out a new restaurant every few weeks, usually from different types of regional cuisines.

amysmummy12345 · 21/01/2017 19:57

Introducing a variety of foods from the beginning of weaning! That way they get used to trying out new flavours and textures from the very start of their food journey! DD 7 months is having mango curry tomorrow!

Hedgeh0g · 21/01/2017 19:38

Eating dinner all together has helped my super picky 2 year old. We also say he just has to try something, not eat it all, and always offer pudding (fruit) regardless. It doesn't always work, but I think he's getting better, in a two steps forwards, one step back kind of way!

starlight36 · 21/01/2017 18:36

Definitely get them interested by getting them to help make the food.
If they have limited thing they like try to make as many different meals as you can with the ingredients so you are not always serving the same thing. You might find you can then introduce more new foods. We got giddy DS to eat pasta from making a raging sauce using his favourite sausages.

NauticalDisaster · 21/01/2017 17:55

Just persevere. Neither of my DC liked veg that much before but now I can get them to eat just about any veg. I kept putting the veg on their plate and asked them to taste one of everything each time it was on their plate. Eventually they've got used to it.

It's not perfect, one always refuses asparagus and the other ones hates carrots! I can handle that.

Thisrabbitthatrabbit · 21/01/2017 16:39

What has worked for me is being completely nonchalant about what he eats but offering a good balance, if he doesn't eat what's in his plate that's fine, maybe he'll eat something at the next meal.

I think it's part luck, some children are going to be fussy and others aren't.

pinkunicornsarefluffy · 21/01/2017 12:10

The main thing is to not stress over it. It's not going to kill them if they don't eat certain things for a while. It didn't bother me what DC ate as I knew they would grow out of it. If as a toddler they only want pasta and cheese so be it. 3 years later they will be eating anything.

I won't force my child to eat anything, as I was forced to eat food by my parents and teachers when I was a child and it has left me with food issues, so I won't be a hypocrite and force DC to eat anything they don't want to.

School dinners was the best thing for DC eating vegetables, they saw everyone else eating them and joined in.

BathshebaDarkstone · 21/01/2017 10:17

I don't sweat it, they eat enough variety over a week. With DS 26, who's got cystic fibrosis, he can eat exactly what he wants, as if he feels like eating it's a result! If he wants to live on Zinger tower meals from KFC, at least that's a huge meal!