HELP - MN NEEDS YOUR TIPS FOR FUSSY EATERS

[AbbyMumsnet]

We need your tips on dealing with fussy eaters - so could you please be so kind as to post them here? Thank you!

RomySchneider - depends whether they think it's clever to copy 'fussy' behaviour. ds1 ate everything by the time he was one and has continued to do so. ds2 was a right pain - rejected anything new. By the time he was one his diet consisted of Weetabix, bananas, fromage frais and marmite sandwiches. He drove me to distraction, but the candlelit dinners did the trick and he eats most things now. Strangely, he is still funny about fruit - he will only eat apples & bananas, not things that most other children his age (11) will eat like grapes & strawberries. He will eat curry, shellfish, etc which a lot of children his age won't.

If you dont want to drive yourself completely bonkers then ignore it, prepare them something you know they will eat and absolutely no treats unless they do eat it.
there is nothing more disheartening than spending 3 hours lovingly preparing fresh, organically reared food to be told "I want chick sticks!"
I agree with morningpaper, some kids WILL go hungry rather than eat food they dont like (or think they dont like)
My brother lived on jam sandwiches and onion monster munch for 2 years. It drove my poor mum insane - He is now 30 and 6 foot 2. Bit of a twat, but cant really blame that on the food
My 3.5 year old ds has quite a restricted diet, but I supplement him with a vitamin and iron tonic (as advised by a paediatrician).
I know my ds, and I also know he will eat a larger range of foods when he is good and ready and not before.
Am not going to drive myself mad about it like my mum did.
Good luck

Sometimes just getting ds to taste something is enough to get him to eat it - that's half the battle. Have started telling him that all I want him to do is taste it. Then if he really doesn't like it, I won't make him eat it. Since I've treated him like a grown up, he's been more cooperative.

I was a fussy eater myself and clearly remember the arguments I had with my parents - a lot of the time I refused to eat because they continued the fuss. I'm sure that I'd have been better had they made less of a big deal about me eating.

Good advice here. My DS (17mths) ate everything up until a month or two ago, and now has "fussy days" and good days.

FWIW, I have:
(1) cut out snacks apart from tiny amounts of raisins or bread & butter, and the odd mouthful of a biscuit (if I'm having one - on the basis that totally prohibited foods are going to be more attractive).
(2) used plain yoghurt with a variety of blended fresh fruit and passed it off as commercially sweetened yoghurt (even to the point of serving it in little pots).
(3) used a dab of cheese sauce on savoury meals.
(4) Blended veg into tomato sauce for pasta.

I also believe in the don't offer alternatives & try to stay calm approach. Not easy though, I know!

cut out snacks.
Give a little of what you want them to eat not a big plate full!
dont make a fuss.
Offer meal if they dont eat it they dont get a treat.
Fruit is perfect for after dinner.
Reward all attempts at food.
try to eat the same with the kids.

Dont eat with DH if he is going to sit there saying "I'm not having any XXXX's!" etc it really wont help!

speedymama - try a handful of cooked cous cous in home made burger mix (esp good in lamb burgers, as is finely chopped dried apricots..)

starve them till they eat what you give

Hi there - our lot dont like drinking plain water and some squash has too much sugar and artificial stuff in it but at the Vitality Show my wife found O2GO

www.wedrinkmorewater.com

the kids love it and it doesnt change the colour of water at all. It has 2 cals and uses Splenda as well as having some vitamins andminerals in

each sachet is used with a standard 500ml water bottle refilled from the tap - so is friendly for the environment too - Great!

Our boys like strawberry and Peach the best

Cheers

JY

and that is better than milk or watered down fruit juice because...?

Presumably you have shares in this stuff?

Actually, what is Splenda? An artificial sweetener?

Also, yes some children are very fussy (or rather 'restricted') in what they will eat, and the worry is they won't get sufficient nutrition. They won't literally starve themselves, but left to their own whims they will be poorly nourished or deficient in some things.

We do have a responsibility to educate ourselves on nutrition and try to provide a balanced diet. And to ignore all the hype and advertising.

Stretching the truth might help if you have one that flat out refuses to try anything new eg DS 20 months will eat 'orange ham' (smoked salmon) or 'white ham' (roast chicken).

Also keep on offering things they initially reject-after months and months of putting lightly steamed veg on DSs plate only to throw it away again he finally picked up a carrot said'circle round carrot' and ate it the other day.

Have also been mixing fresh veg juice (carrot beetroot) with copella apple juice which he loves to get veg down him.

I really do think that judging by friends nannies friends etc if you have a really fussy one they really just won't eat unless they really like it. DH is the same and he is 41....

Haven't read thread so apologies if I am repeating anything

My top invention is a mixing breakfast, which is empty yogurt pots full of all the things you want them to eat. You put all the pots on the table and let your child choose what to put in their bowl. If they are under 3 they are almost certainly going to tip the whole lot in, and then hopefully eat it. Older ones can pick the things they like and feel like they have control. You could try this with salad contents and so on as well.

Try not to get too het up if your child won't eat "proper" foods at each meal, or the appropriate foods for that time of day. Homemade pizza for breakfast is nutritionally equivalent to a bowl of weetabix, milk and fruit juice. It's just wheat flour, cow's milk and tomatoes - perfectly good food.

Find healthy snack foods that they enjoy and let them help themselves whenever they like. Give them a drawer, box, or section of the fridge that is just for their snacks, and let them choose when and what to eat from it. Fruit, dried fruit, nuts, oatcakes, mini cheese portions, crudites and dips etc are all great foods and can go a long way towards meeting a child's nutritional requirements for the day.

Go to a greengrocers or market to get your fruit and veg instead of a supermarket. Children can see, feel and smell the produce and choose new things that they would like to try. The staff hopefully will get to know your child (regular customers at a market or greengrocers get GOOD treatment) and may make a fuss of them or give them treats when they come in.

i really do see the point of everyone's advice, but a word of warning (not to sound too dramatic) but i think i unwittingly put my ds1 through a lot of trauma. he'd try and eat what we'd given him to plese us and then be so anxious he'd vomit. he would not eat for a long time, waking in the night though never asking for food, because we tried the no option route - this was when he was 3. when he was 4 (by which time i'd just decided to work round his limits and he has a balanced if unchanging diet) he was diagnosed with aspergers syndrome and his very high levels of anxiety were mentioned by all the professionals that have assessed him.
that said i have had lots of gently tried success lately. fruit juice jelly and ice lollies. fruit and yoghurt ice cream (greek yog best). charlie and lolas book in which peas are called 'green drops from greenland' had a big impact! baked beans are back because of the swimming pool cafe - so a change of scene. a mumsnetter told me about parsnip chips just put them in with wedges or oven chips. fruit picking was fantastic - pressure free introduction to lots of different fruits. i find chat about anything but food at the tea table also helps. i think supplements have given me peace of mind, but i always check with the pharmacist that they're ok.

BIL got himself an allotment. Takes my nephew there at weekends and now he's gone from touching no veg to growing, harvesting and eating the lot.

Yes you are quite right lucky. Some children have real problems with eating for various reasons, whether special needs or allergies or whatever, and deserve more patience than we are talking abuot here. They are really an exception to the general advice and light-hearted remarks on this thread.

Actually the lying thing works sometimes, I told a reluctant ds that some pear was apple so he tucked in happily! Once he realised he actually liked it i said 'oh did I say apple? silly mummy its a pear!'. Sometimes getting them to try a bite or two is the hardest bit.

i have 1 major fusser, 2 good ones and a baby of 16 months that i've finally got it right with by just giving her whatevers going and not stressing if it ends up on the floor
my fusser is much much better and improves all the time. my policy is

i cook what i want to cook and we all have the same. the fusser would initially start with a tiny bit of plain meat, no sauce, tiny bit of plain rice etc, i'd let him hav a bit of bread and butter for bulk
then we all have fruit before pudding and if the fusser has eaten poorly he has two bits then he can have pudding
he really has come on leaps and bounds, he now has everthing we have on his plate and month on month eats more of it. i do allow for a few 'tastes ' though - for example he cant abide cooked cheese which i can understand
keep at it

At what age do you start the "can't have pudding if not eaten savoury"? Have DD just about to turn 1. Current diet is sausage casserole (still mashed) chilli and rice,Bolognase sauce, sometimes tuna pasta bake and fish fingers. Can't get any veg in as finger food but adores all kinds of fruit. However can only get a (what I think is) small portion of savoury in and then she stops and refuses any more but cries as still hungry so will happily eat small fromage frais and fruit. If I didn't let her have this she wouldn't sleep very long! Currently sleeping 7pm - 7am!

Also find it hard to eat with her as she is usually starving by 4.45pm - DH not home until after 5.30pm

Really good to know this is a very common thing!!

Each week we now let dd1 age 3 choose a new fruit and vegetable for us all to try, as we felt we were in a bit of a rut with the things we served her and dd2 aged 1. So far spinach, cabage, baby turnips, mango and sharron fruit have been the real winners and the only thing turned away, after tasting 2 bits, was courgette. She did eat quite a good range before this, but she seems to like having a bit of a say in what she eats. Another trick is to offer 2 choices of cooked meal for that day (obviously what you have available) then she also feels that she has some input.

Stay calm and don't get upset (no 1 and most important rule)
We have tried the reward chart and stickers. With mixed results really.
We have tried the no pudding one, again, it meant that dcs got so upset at the prospect of no pudding that it didn't work, also makes pudding be the treat.
We have had more sucess with saying that there will be no snacks or biscuits (we don't have them at home) at playgroups, or any treats really.
Then it just a case of being calm and reminding them of this at the beginning of the meal, and being clear about what you want them to try (one new thing at a time), and praising any efforts made.
This approach has started to work once ds1 turned 4. Before that time, I think you just need to offer a variety of foods and not get too worried as long as they can see that you enjoy a good diet, they will usually end up improving as they grow up

hey redbush i have same issue with teatime, so i always prepare a small thing ie sandwich or fruit for myself to eat with dd, then have a grown up meal later. you can't have every meal together if its not physically possible!!

My eldest eats anything,his fave is olives and has been since weaning!The 3 yr old however doesn't ever eat 3 meals a day but does ALWAYS eat 2 bowls of brekkie and lots of cream crackers with cheese and butter...have decided not to worry anymore as it is not me that goes to bed hungry....

Find foods they do like {spag bol or lasagna in our house is a firm fav) then sneak other foods in.

Also I found a special plate works well too. I bought some melamine plates with farm animals on, my three love them, and we try to clear the plate so they can see the pictures.