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

Don't make an issue out of it, don't stress over it. They won't be fussy forever.

Let them eat the stuff they don't like at other people's houses. Even better...they eat most things once they've left home...

Don't stop offering disliked foods. Also don't pre-empt by assuming they won't like something (and certainly don't tell them they probably won't!). I also agree about letting them get properly hungry - food tastes so much better then.

Who ever invented predictive text is an UTTER MORON!

My Grandmother had the best way to sort it out. If you don't eat what you are given you get it however dryer up and horrible every meal until you eat it. Only had to do it once. Mowbray almost anything!

My ds fortunatly has never really been through a fussy stage, but as a family we always have the same meal, and everyone has everything on their plate whether they like it or not - the portion size is varied though. This means I have a taste of swede - which I'm learning not to dislike, ds gets a bit of mushroom and so on. Several things I thought I didn't like I actually do, and ds has stopped genuinely disliking a few things after repetitions of the required lick.

My daughter helps prepare the meals, and then she is much more likely to eat whatever we have cooked.

Don't nag or bribe.
Give everyone the same but make sure there is something on the plate they'll like eg a veg or carb they favour.

I find if I 'ignore' my one year old he eats way more than if I'm stood over him trying to encourage him to eat the things he doesn't want.

Letting him eat odd combinations of food as long as the overall meal is balanced. At the minute he eats beetroot with everything!

Fibbing. Sample conversation: "do you want shepherd's pie?" Toddler "no." Me: "OK, how about mash potato with mince in gravy?" Toddler "yummy!"

Honestly...

We've always eaten as a family at the table. We've always made our meals an enjoyable family time. I have three DC and as soon as they could sit in a high chair they joined in with meal time.

I think it's really important to teach children the joy of food and associating a meal with a happy relaxed time. As adults we like to take time over our meal and to chat and socialise. Our children have been taught that, from the word go.

As a child moves from a milk diet onto proper food, it's very important to be relaxed and to make meals enjoyable for all.

We never made a fuss about food. We just offered the baby some of what we were having, so he could experience the different tastes and textures. We used the finger food, baby led method, and just used to give him a selection to play with and try out.

My three now love food and cooking with us. Gradually as they grew they had one to one sessions with one of us in the kitchen and they loved it.

They like coming shopping with us and helping to choose what we're going to eat.

We try and chat at dinner time and not pay too much attention to what our 3 yo is or isn't eating! If we draw attention to her she seems to stop trying stuff but if we chat and every now and then say well done to her for trying something she responds much better.

I have fortunately not had fussy eaters. It is surprising the lengths some parents have to go to.

Put it on Daddy's plate!! They always seem to want what he's having - even if the same food is on their plate!!!

My 5 year old is very fussy. He eats best when we don't try and force him .. just one mouthful etc. So I try and just be chatty and breezy at dinner time and don't comment on whet he has or hasn't eaten.

Also, just extending what he actually eats rather than forcing new foods. He likes fresh herbs weirdly, so lost meals I give him basil leaves and then will introduce parsley etc.

I insist on putting things on DD's plate but an emphatic that she doesn't have to try them if she doesn't want to. (One disliked thing max per meal.) However if she does try something she doesn't like, she gets praise and a sticker.

I make sure I'm busy and not just sitting watching her.

And to keep myself sane I hide behind the cupboard door and secretly eat chocolate.

Sometimes I give my children a deconstructed meal which they love to be in control of and mix up themselves but wouldn't eat if I gave it to them on 1 plate. For example plain pasta, a bowl of pesto, broccoli, ham, pine nuts and cheese. Works for us!!

I have 2 fussy eaters - probably due to us pandering to their food rejections and offering alternatives.

We are trying a lot of the good advice on here - eating together, offering something they like and adding something they don't like, do raw/cooked version of same veg so they can choose, not making a fuss about having to eat, etc.

I also dabble with the 'Tiny tastes' technique by Lucy Cooke, but don't do it properly at the moment, maybe I will try it properly now I have thought about it again.... Lots of research evidence to back it up. So at the moment we verbally reward for trying anything new, but always make sure it is there alongside food they do like.

Also, don't buy certain things that they ask for all the time, so they just aren't available - e.g. DS6 would live on pain au chocolates for breakfast if he could, so we now only buy them occasionally for a treat.

What worked with DD was never looking at her plate while she was eating, and pretending we were not remotely bothered if she ate it.If she thought we were watching her she would stop eating immediately. In the end, it's usually just a phase, and the more relaxed you can be, the better.

For some reason DD (2) eats best when no one is watching her so I usually give her a plate of food at her little table and then wander off. It seems to work as otherwise she says she doesn't like virtually everything on her plate.

She also seems to especially like to eat anything that is on my plate...

I try to not make a fuss. We always eat together at the table and all get the same. If someone has tried something on a few occasions and really doesn't like it, I will stop putting it on their plate but will still ask if they want to try again but no pressure.

Sometimes little things help, DD said she didn't like quiche, but when I gave her a slice of chicken omelette, she liked it - of course I waited until she had finished it before telling her it was actually quiche!

Disguise vegetables in mashed potato. Make frozen lollies with stewed fruit. Also stewed fruit can be put into jelly. Making sure you don't exceed the liquid volume for the jelly.

Mine won't eat his veggies so I just make sure he snacks on fruit. As long as he is getting enough good stuff down him I don't see the point in arguing about foods he doesn't like YET.