
Trying for a baby	Pregnant	Birth & labour	Baby	Toddler

Fussy Eating

Most toddlers go through a fussy stage at some point because of their growing independence and assertiveness. This can be pretty frustrating for parents who were used to a baby who ate everything on her plate. Toddlers go through all sorts of phases and fussy eating can range from refusing vegetables, only eating one or two foods (pasta and ketchup for instance) or having a complete no-food ban.

Before you start panicking, it is worth remembering that your toddler will never voluntarily starve herself and if you view what she has eaten that week, rather than that day, she has probably had a balanced diet.

The key to good eating habits is to introduce your toddler to as many different fresh foods as possible making sure there are different flavours, textures and colours. Better still, start introducing as many different flavours to your baby before she hits the fussy toddler stage so she is used to a variety of foods.

Tips to help your fussy eater:
- Try not to battle it out too much with your toddler. If you give too much attention to her fussy eating she will realise she gets attention from doing it. If you ignore her pickiness to a certain agree she may get bored with it and start eating everything again.

- Avoid saying phrases like, ‘she’s such a fussy eater’ in front of her which again draws attention to her food.

- Try to have family meals together so your toddler can see her family tucking in to their food. This normalises food and puts greater attention on the family being together rather than what you are eating.

- Don’t be a fussy eater yourself. If you refuse to eat all vegetables then this is suggesting to your child that it's acceptable for them to not eat their vegetables. Eat a variety of foods and eat the same meal (as much as possible) that your toddler is eating.

- Make food fun – involve your toddler in preparing her food and get her to arrange a face out of vegetables on her plate. Let her help you sprinkle cheese on a pizza or add sauce to pasta. Have picnics out or go to child-friendly restaurants and let your toddler pick what she wants to eat.

- Never force-feed your child. If she refuses food, offer her something else and try again another day. Don’t give up on a food or say ‘She never eats carrots’ in front of her because you will create a self-fulfilling prophecy where she thinks she gets attention if she ‘never eats carrots’. The same goes for announcing, ‘she’s such a fussy eater’ in her earshot.

- Take her shopping with you and get her to choose the foods she likes. Ask her what she wants for lunch but give her a choice from a few healthy options, i.e do you want jacket potato or cheese on toast? That way she will feel like it has been her decision.

- Avoid having crisps, chocolate and junk food snacks in the house so that they don’t become an alternative to more healthy options.

- When introducing a new taste, don’t say, ‘you have to eat this’, instead say, ‘you can try this if you want’ so she has a choice.

- Praise her when she finishes all her food or tries something adventurous.

- Try not to bribe your toddler by saying, ‘if you eat your vegetables you can have some chocolate’ as you want her to get used to eating food without being rewarded for it.

- If she rejects food, don’t give up on it; instead try again another day. Remember you can dish things up in more then one way; potatoes can be boiled, mashed, roasted and baked. Carrots can be raw, boiled or mashed etc. Other tricks are to disguise vegetables in casseroles, soups and pies.

- Forget table manners for now and accept that mealtimes will be messy, elbows will be on the table and your toddler will talk with her mouthful. All this can be addressed once you have passed the fussy stage.

- If you are worried your child is not getting all the different foods from each food group, look at other foods in each group to find alternatives that your child enjoys. If your child doesn’t like cheese, offer yoghurt as a good way to get calcium into her. Read our feature on foods by age for more information on the types of food your child should be eating.

- Is your toddler drinking too much milk? Your toddler should be drinking a cup of milk at breakfast time, a mid-afternoon cup and a bedtime cup. Don’t offer milk instead of food and if she is thirsty during the day and at mealtimes, offer water.

- Toddlers have small stomachs so you may be feeding her too much. Try offering her six smaller meals instead of three bigger ones to see how she gets on.

- Is she eating her tea too late? It is good and well encouraging your family to eat together but if this means your toddler isn’t eating till seven or eight at night, it might be too late for her. If she is tired she is less likely to get through mealtimes without a fuss.

If you have any unanswered questions, use the feeding and food area of our answers page to gain wisdom from other parents or our resident experts.