Babies: Fussy Eaters

If you can get your child to eat a wide variety of foods when they are a baby you are far less likely to suffer from catering for a fussy eater as they grow older. Early food routines from the moment they go onto solids are all about building habits that will make your life easier in the years to come. It also means your child is likely to enjoy food and have few problems with eating socially as they grow up.

Here are 10 tips to ensure your child develops into a healthy eater rather than a fussy eater.

1. You Choose What They Eat

Problems can start to arise quickly if you baby starts to decide what's on the menu. Obviously you will not be looking to feed them foods they clearly dislike, but if they choose not to eat something during a mealtime it is a slippery slope if you decide to replace it with something they prefer.

If you do that they will soon pick up on the idea that if they decide not to eat something you will quickly provide them with something they are really keen on. This encourages them not to persevere with foods that they do not like as much as they do their favourite foods.

There is a useful saying that goes along the lines of "You decide what they eat. They decide how much they eat".

2. Create an Eating Routine

It is a good idea to establish an eating and drinking routine as soon as you can. Meal times should be spaced out during the day so that you avoid satisfying hunger shortly before a meal with a small snack that then blunts appetite for the meal itself. Once you get your child into an established routine their body will start to recognise when meal time comes around so that they are hungry at a time when you are ready to offer food.

Even supplying drinks too close to meal times can suppress appetites. When this happens your child is likely to eat the food they like and leave food they are not sure about that you may be trying to introduce to them.

3. Moving From Puree to Mash

Introducing new food textures is important. Therefore moving on to mash as soon as your baby is ready is helpful. This gives you the chance to increase the range of foods you offer. The sooner you are able to do this the sooner your baby can get used to the idea of dealing with different textures. Most babies can cope with well mashed food from around 7 ½ months. If you are unsure talk to your health visitor to discuss when is a good time for moving from puree to mash.

4. Give Them Control

As your baby grows older they are likely to want to start feeding themselves. If you don't realise this you may find your baby appears to lose some interest in eating. This can be mistaken for becoming fussy when in fact they would simply prefer to feed themselves. At this point get ready for the messy months!

5. Keep The Pressure Off

Once your baby does start to feed themselves let them take control. Leave it to them to decide what they eat first from the food that is front of them. If they are hungry enough they will eat whatever is in front of them in their own good time.

6. Offer New Foods More Than Once

It can take a while for a baby to become interested in a new food. It may be that at one mealtime they found enough other foods in front of them to fill them up. Therefore they didn't try much of a new food not because they didn't like it, but because they were already full enough. With some foods it will also take a while for a baby to build up the confidence to try it.

7. Work Out When to Offer a New Food

A lot has been written about when you should offer a new food to your child. There are no set rules that work for everyone. Over time you are likely to develop a sense of when to offer a new food. Too many new foods in a short space of time may overwhelm.

It is best to introduce foods as individual tastes rather than mixed together with other foods. Using this method helps to get your child used to trying new tastes and flavours.

8. Don't Hurry Meal Times

It's not always possible, but whenever you can make mealtimes as relaxed as possible. Give your child enough time to eat their meal as they want to take. If you can take this approach it is of more benefit to you than anyone else as you will not feel under pressure to almost force food into your child.

When your child is more relaxed they are more likely to try any new food that has been put in front of them.

9. Eat Together

Eating together can have many benefits, especially if you have other children. Your baby is likely to become curious about the food everyone else is eating. This in itself will encourage them to try different foods if they can see other people enjoying them. If your other children are not making a fuss about their food they can also learn that mealtimes are for getting on with eating and not kicking up a fuss.

10. What to do When They Say They Have Had Enough

When your child says they have had enough and mealtime is over let them get down from the table or highchair even if they have not cleared their plate. It may simply be that they are not hungry at that moment in time. Appetites of your children tend to vary so on some days they may be hungrier than on others.

The key point to remember is that if your child has not cleared their plate is that they will need to wait until their next snack time of mealtime before being offered anything else. They will soon work out that its best to eat what you put in front of them if they are truly hungry.

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