By Karla Gilbert
Karla Gilbert is a Nutrition and Health Coach, a mum of two girls and a certified Level III and IV Fitness Trainer. Enjoy her top tips below…
The fussy eater. It’s a story as old as the hills and something that touches most of us during the early years of parenting. In fact, winning over fussy eaters is almost like a parenting rite of passage.
It seems hard to swallow (pardon the pun) that something as simple as eating can be such a laborious, time-consuming, energy-draining event. We expect the art of putting food in their mouths to come easy to our little ones, but like any other life skill – whether it’s potty training, walking, reading and writing – eating the right foods is a learned behaviour that requires guidance, direction and perseverance.
Here are my five top tips to tempt the fussy eaters in your family, especially during times where you might be spending more time at home, getting frustrated over meals.
Make it familiar
Have you ever heard your child say ‘I don’t like it’ when they haven’t even lifted a morsel to their mouth? This is usually in fear of something new.
Begin to introduce your children to new food in a different way before you serve it on the dinner plate. So, for instance, use celery bases for dipping into the paint and making flower shapes, or beetroot to cut shapes into and use as a stamp. Let them get messy and personal with all their senses to increase familiarity.
Watch the sugar
Fussy eating can be mistaken for simply not having an appetite. The first thing to do is cut down on sugar between meals.
How will this help, I hear you ask?
Well, kids riding a sugar high is a rollercoaster we need to stop. When your kids eat something sugary, they end up hungry again after 30 minutes as glucose/insulin levels rise on eating and then quickly fall once the sugar has been digested, so they ask for more food. This continues up until dinnertime as parents give into the child’s repeated requests.
Keeping up a running supply of food during the afternoon spoils the chance for them to be genuinely hungry enough to enjoy a nutrient-dense meal – a meal which would hold their satiety levels well until the next meal or scheduled snack.
Plan your attack!
Work with your kids and plan your attack. We know ourselves how our moods dictate what we feel like eating, so it’s no wonder some meals are met with a turned-up nose by our kids. It also helps to let them choose in the afternoon between two healthy meals for dinner or even just a choice between the carbohydrate component of the meal (e.g. chicken casserole served with brown rice or potatoes).
This gives them a sense of control over their meal and hopefully enhances their interest in what is being served up. Try and pre-empt their preferences and reactions and this will save a lot of frustration come dinnertime!
Invite the fairies /superheroes
Take the focus off ‘you’ serving the meal and make it fun. You could tell your kids, “Spiderman gets his energy from red foods” (tomato, capsicum, apples, etc.) or “The fairies left a special vegetable to try from their own fairy garden!” (lots of greens).
You can even make up a cute handwritten note and leave it on the fridge pretending to be fairies/Spiderman/Ben 10… whoever your kid most admires. Say something like, “I thought you would like to try my favourite veggie/fruit.” This will help build excitement and curiosity at dinner.
Get moving
How much does your own appetite go through the roof after you’ve been running around outside? For most of us, being hungry means a willingness to adapt to new foods or simply just eat any meal at all. Good old-fashioned hunger!
So go outside and get huffy and puffy with your children – it’s great fun to spend active time together and will increase those feel-good endorphins as well. Get the meal prepped beforehand, then go race around like crazy for an hour or two and come home to a healthy meal.
A final note
Food shouldn’t be a bargaining game; constant negotiation doesn’t create healthy attitudes or ultimately change behaviour. Relax a little and your kids will relax too.
You can’t replace good nutrition, so continue to be a role model and focus energy towards using your words differently. Taste buds need time to adapt or change, so action the two P’s – patience and perseverance!
Check out some of our favourite recipes to make with children here [link to nutrition pillar]
