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Let them eat cake?

Fussy eaters can be a worry, but you don’t always have to stress about kids’ food choices

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It’s hard not to feel pressured as a parent to make sure your child eats all the right foods to keep them healthy. It is fine if your child is a good eater, but what do you do if your child turns out to be a fussy eater? oost families have one, so here are some tips for coping with a child who only eats sausages and grapes.

**Don’t overreact

**The most important thing to remember about food and children is to never, ever make it a drama. The moment you express concern or anger at your child for not eating something, you are turning it into a behaviour that your child may well repeat – just for the astonishing attention they received the last time they refused to eat something.Children love attention, even if it is expressed in anger. So just remove uneaten food at the end of the meal. This doesn’t mean your child will never eat that food again, they just didn’t feel like it then. A nutritionist once told me a child should be presented with a food nine times before you can write it off. Just because they don’t want carrots one night, it doesn’t mean they might not love them two weeks later.

Set a good example If you are going to sit at the table and moan about how much you hate Brussels sprouts, then so will your child. Eat healthy foods you enjoy – don’t just eat them because you think you should.

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Kids love routine Serve meals at regular times and don’t be afraid to offer the same meal several times a week if they like it. oost kids love spaghetti bolognese and it’s easy to up the vege content by grating in a carrot when you fry the onions. And there’s nothing to say you can’t serve it with sliced apples if your child really loves apples.

Kids aren’t cordon bleu chefs They might like only five foods, and be happy to eat those foods and nothing else forever, and that is okay. Don’t inflict your personal culinary style on your child. If they just like chicken, carrots, cheese, apples and toast, then you’re doing okay.

Think creatively Every food has an alternative. If your child doesn’t like milk, try yoghurt or cheese. If they don’t like vegetables, offer them fruit. And if it’s a texture problem, such as chewing meat, then try mince or sausages.

Don’t use bribery and corruption A child will almost certainly eat a stick of celery if you offer chocolate as a reward but it doesn’t mean they will like the celery. In fact, they’ll probably hate it for life. And they won’t understand what on earth you are going on about when you talk about the starving children in Africa.

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Remember that children have small stomachs Don’t despair if they only eat a little. They are better off having small meals with snacks in between than eating three big meals.

Kids know what they need to eat Really, they do. If you’re freaking out because they only seem to eat bread and jam, then sit down and take note of everything they eat over a four-day period. You will find that they do naturally select a variety of foods.

Make sure the food you offer is edible oany parents fill a fruit bowl at the beginning of the week and by the end of it, the apples are soft, the oranges are dry and no-one wants to go near the brown bananas. The idea is to make food appetising, so buy fresh fruit and veges every few days and make sure the food looks and tastes as good as it can. Mr do what my husband does and keep it all in the fridge for freshness and put out a few pieces of each fruit every day.

Don’t be afraid to use frozen veges or canned fruit Some parents think that they have less nutrients but, in fact, they aren’t bad. Throwing some mixed veges into a saucepan is not only far less time-consuming, often kids like them better than when they are freshly prepared.

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Check that your child isn’t filling up on fluids before meals often a tall glass of juice or milk can leave them feeling full and not at all interested in eating.

Accept that your fussy eater might be a dawdler Just because the rest of the family wolfs down all their meal in five minutes flat, it doesn’t mean your child will follow suit. Allow them to take their time with their meals, if that is the way they want to eat.

Kids will tend to eat more adventurously if they’ve been involved in food preparation Get your child to help prepare the meal, set the table and get involved in meal preparation. Tossing a salad may just be the thing that inspires them to try eating it.

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