03 Apr Happy Kids, Stress-Free Meals: A Parent’s Guide to Fussy Eating
From mealtime battles to wins: Karina Savage looks at tackling fussy-eating kids (without the guilt!)
What is fussy eating?
Fussy eating is actually a normal part of toddler development. It is an “umbrella term” for a broad range of eating characteristics. This could include food selectivity (avoiding certain foods or food groups), sensory issues, a genuine disgust for food or fear of eating. Medical issues such as iron deficiency can also influence appetite and intake.
Fussy eating may also result when babies and young children are not given the opportunity to regularly get messy with food—touching, tasting, and smelling a variety of foods and textures. Often, when we are parents, we get stressed about our child’s food intake, which actually makes the situation worse.
The mum guilt…
It is incredibly stressful for a parent to have a fussy eater and battle every mealtime. I’ve been there and know first hand how overwhelming and frustrating it can be…. It can totally crush our confidence as a mum. Many mums I work with also feel huge “mum guilt” and worry about their child not eating well enough. They worry that their child won’t be getting everything they need to thrive.
The good news is that often fussy eaters still grow to their full potential because they often eat good amounts of carbs and dairy, ie, “the white foods”. The main issue here is that they sometimes lack some of the nutrients they need, such as fibre, protein, iron and zinc.
Do they grow out of it?
Fussy eating is something that can certainly be improved or “fixed” over time, but it most definitely is a journey or “work in progress” rather than a quick fix.
Competent eaters take years to develop, and this is completely OK. We need to remember that over their first 18 years, children learn a lot about all different aspects of life, and food is no different – it takes time.
Children don’t need to eat a complete range of fruit and vegetables by age 8, but they do need to eat at least some different colours (important from a nutritional perspective).
Parents’ eating behaviours matter!!
Absolutely! It’s crucial that good role modelling occurs with the whole family. We as parents need to eat with our children as much as possible, and by doing so, we teach them how to enjoy healthy, wholesome food. When children see the rest of the family happily enjoying healthy food, they are much more likely to trust the food and want to eat it too!
5 Top tips for parents with fussy eaters
- Focus on happy mealtimes with less focus on food. Whilst it can be hard, the less you talk about food, the better.
- Offer them healthy foods throughout the day. Young children have small tummies; therefore, snacks can provide up to 50% of their nutrition.
- Serve meals earlier rather than later. Tired, distracted or anxious children eat poorly.
- Keep snack times consistent (and give them a good 2 hours in between) rather than a smorgasbord of food on offer all day.
- Limit their milk intake to 1 cup per day.
Karina has a Bachelor of Nutrition & Dietetics and a Bachelor of Science. She has 23 years of Clinical Experience in Paediatric Nutrition and is a regular guest on Channel 7’s Sunrise. Karina is also the host of The Easy Feed podcast and is a published author in Paediatric Research. As a mum, Karina understands the never-ending worry that comes with feeding kids.
To learn more about the program: https://nourishwithkarina.com/nourishingkids
