Win an Organix hamper or £50 Love2Shop voucher! Join Q&A on children's eating habits and fussy eaters - ANSWERS BACK

[LucilleMumsnet]

This week we are running a Q&A with Organix who are offering you the chance to ask feeding expert Lucy Thomas about children's eating habits and how to help fussy eaters.

Inspiring fussy eaters to enjoy fruit and vegetables is Lucy's passion. As founder and author of 'Mange Tout', her methods have been recommended by doctors, nutritionists and Great Ormond Street hospital. Lucy has also featured on BBC TV and Radio and is a spokesperson for the Taste for Life campaign, brought to you by Organix.

Post your questions to Lucy before 9am Monday 20th January and we'll send over a selection to which she will provide answers to help you better deal with fussy or unusual eating habits. There is a £50 Organix hamper and a £50 Love2Shop voucher up for grabs for those that post questions. We will post up Lucy's answers on Thursday 30th January.

Do you have any ideas for kids who say "I don't like that!" Before they have even tried it. My cooking really isn't that bad.

My DS 19mo has never taken to any fruit or vegetables. Every day I offer a different type (today sliced apple) and every day it is refused. Sometimes I think it is the texture as he rarely even gets to the stage of putting it near his mouth before tossing it away. I love vegetables, salads etc and he sees us eating lots of fruit too but this does not make him want to eat it. I puree one meal a day for him and put lots of vegetables into it to make sure he gets some. I also use pureed fruit in his cereal and custard. I am getting frustrated about the amount of wasted food as every day the fruit and or vegetables I give him as finger foods are wasted and also because at 19mo i am spoonfeeding him just to make sure he gets some vitamins. What advice do you have?

Mine aren't bad for fruit and vegetables, and because of that I don't push a bigger variety.
Peas/sweetcorn/carrots/broccoli/tomatoes mainly.
One child only sucks the seeds out of tomatoes, but will eat most other fruit and vegetables.
My youngest is great at eating vegetables, but won't touch fruit. He has just started eating apples if I peel them. I always gave him tomatoes when the others have fruit. (I know it's a fruit, but we eat it as a savoury.)

I figure pick my battles, and I can work with what I have.
Defeatist?

What I really want to know is how to get them to eat fish other than fish fingers and battered cod. Can I sneak in a quick help?

Should I be concerned about the sugar content of fruit? My two boys, 6 and 3 are big fruit eaters & drinkers. They snack on dried fruit daily as well as having pure fruit juice or a fruit smoothie and eat lots of fresh fruits such as grapes, pineapple and banana.
My eldest son recently had to have a filling & the dentist recommended reducing the fruit they eat & drink quite drastically.
Fruit is pretty much the only sugar source my 6 year old has as he becomes so hyperactive when he eats anything with sugar in.

My son is only 9 months, and loves to eat everything - the only thing he's turned his nose up at is mackerel. Does this mean he is less likely to become a fussy toddler, or does it have no bearing at all?

My LO is quite a good eater. The only thing that concerns me is she doesn't seem to want breakfast when going to nursery. I always carry in the car breadsticks, raisins and rice cakes but doesn't seem fussed. Any tips?

My ds is 4 and is extremely fussy . He will only eat about 5 different things and he will not try anything new, especially no potatoes , meat , sauces/gravies, rice , fruit ( apart from apples ) veg ( will eat cucumber ) and I am really struggling with him. Any suggestions on how to improve this ? Thanks

I have just started weaning my 3rd baby , my older children are 13 and 14 yrs old and things have changed so much . Id like to know what amount of food should my little girl be having in relation to her milk intake , thanks

My DD is pretty fussy about fruit and veg. She will eat strawberries, melon, carrots, broccoli and sweetcorn. Any ideas how to get her to eat more of a range of fruit and veg? She just refuses to try and won't be bribed either.

hi, how can i encourage my son to explore new foods. if i ask him what he wants for dinner he will say porridge! ( its his favourite.) i try and cook something differernt. if he feeds himself him will nibble at it for a few minutes and then just mess about and i feel awful about it. i end up feeding him the majority of the time because i dont want him to be hungry. hes 4 soon and im worried it will continue. please help

My middle child is 7, she has always been fussy with food as a lazy swallowing reflex means she sometimes choaks and is scared to try solid foods. She will more than happily eat veg, mash potato and some fruits so she is eating a varied and balanced diet. I worry though she is not getting enough protein. I do serve her meat but it has to be almost mushy for her to eat it. She gets very distressed and frustrated at the thought of it which upsets me. We do not push her to eat more solid food, we do encourage her to try a very small piece and this has gradually overcome her fear of bread.
Apart from the obvious foods is there any way to increase her protein intake? Or does it even matter to her seen as she eats so much fruit and veg?
* she does eat dairy products and drink milk, but prefers water. She will eat cereals so long as they are soggy*

I try not to make a it an issue when my little one refuses food as I think its just attention seeking, do you agree?

Dear Lucy
I would be so grateful for any advice! My daughter is 9 years old and has always been a fussy eater, and I've always assumed she would grow out of it. Now here we are at 9 years old, with a little girl who hasn't grown out of her fussy eating, she doesn't like meat, many vegetables (loves fruit) and doesn't like her food to be touching. We have tried lots of text book things, letting her help to prepare and cook her meal (she still didn't like it), lots of positive encouragement, we always eat together around the table but nothing has helped. I'm running out of ideas, please help!

How common do you think it is for children to be fussy eaters due to underlying medical / biochemical problems?

Both my boys have been fruit/vegetable refusers and have reacted to lots of different foods (not ones they're allergic to, though DS1 has lots of food allergies). It appears to be caused by underlying biochemical problems (nutritional deficiencies); addressing those deficiencies has got them eating vegetables again without the reactions they previously had.

How long should you leave a child without any food if they refuse to eat what is given to them?

It has always been difficult to get my 9 year old son to eat vegetables and fruits. I've tried many different approaches and tricks, including 'hiding' vegetables in his dinners mainly by blending them so he can't see them. If I make something like a pasta sauce or chilli con carne, he will sit and pick the vegetables out and just eat the meat and pasta/rice. I explain to him that it would taste the same if he just ate the lot together, but he still refuses to eat the vegetables. Do you have any advice for how I can change my own approach to this to encourage him to get his 5 portions a day?

What would you replace sugary foods with when your child has developed a very sweet tooth?

My dd(10) eats like a bird. She has many food foibles eg doesn't like sauces/casseroles/soup but does eat a good varied diet of 'safe' foods. Should I worry, or just give her the foods she will eat?

She loves raw vegetables but isn't keen on them cooked. Hates potatoes in all forms. Loves mango, passion fruit, cherries, blackberries, strawberries, bananas but ignores apples, pears, oranges...

She would live on cucumber and raw carrot given half a chance!

My niece is 13 months old, most of the advice seems to have changed since my youngest was this age (9 years). I wanted to ask is it okay that after her breakfast (porridge/Weetabix/etc. that she is happy to be spoonfed), she grazes on the move all day but won't eat anything offered to her from a spoon? My three children all had three spoonfed meals a day plus finger food/snacks along side. Niece is perfect weight according to HV and very bright and happy, but is walking now and my brother is concerned she will burn off more calories than she is taking in if she won't sit and eat properly.

At what age would you start to introduce more flavour to children's food? I'm a lover of spice but don't know when to introduce a wider range of flavours in the hope DD will like the same food as me.

What are the best ways to introduce meats to toddlers? My son is 15 months old and will tolerate mince and chicken if it's in tiny pieces mixed in something like mashed potato but otherwise he refuses.

Whats your best tip for when children refuse food should you offer an alternative or wait in the hope that they will eat when hungry?

My 4 yr old son eats most things and always has.
His favourite treat is olives!
Just recently he is not interested in sitting down with us for dinner and often refuses to eat.
In this situation, I either allow him to get down from the table if he eats at least one mouthful of every foodtype on the plate or say 'fine' and he eats nothing, and then when hungry later I offer him his dinner again or nothing.
Erm... thoughts?

My 16 month old DS is a good eater, but will only eat starchy/sweet vegetables - carrots, peas, squash, sweetcorn etc. He won't eat broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, courgettes, or any of the less sweet veg. He does, however, eat tonnes of fruit. Should I worry about pushing him to broaden his range? At the moment, I just keep serving up whatever we have and letting him see us eating it, and praising him if he tries a bit. Is that the right approach?