One of the top questions I get asked and here are my top 3 tips! Article originally written for my local magazine (see picture below)

Offer a starter

Rather than present your fussy eater with a new meal with no warning which could end in food refusal, build up slowly by offering something in a starter-size portion in addition to their usual meal. For example, put soup in a small cup alongside some interesting “dunkers” such as breadsticks, croutons or carrot sticks whilst they wait for their main. It does not matter if your child rejects this new food, it is all about building familiarity so they get used to seeing something new and the less pressure on them to eat it, the better! Even easier is if the offer of a starter is from leftovers, so it is quick to prepare or reheat.

Family-Style Meals

Where possible, offer deconstructed meals (also called “family style”) and have everything in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves to what they want. Waste can be minimised by putting any uneaten food away for another day, rather than pre-plating your child’s food, which can add extra pressure. For example, serve a stew or one-pot meal with some familiar sides such as mash, chips, garlic, carrots and peas and let everyone help themselves. This way of serving food builds trust and independence and ultimately, will lead to them feeling comfortable enough to try new food without fearing any negative consequence if they don’t

Beyond the beige

Many parents of fussy eaters I speak to, do not like sauce mixed in with their food. As counterintuitive as it may sound, offering sauce on the side and not mixed in with dishes like bolognese or curries, gives them choice and the more a child thinks they are in charge of their meal, the more likely they are to experiment with new flavours and textures. Make it clear your child can add the sauce, but don’t pressurise. If you can eat with your child and add sauce to your own meal (without comment or judgment) this will help over time. This approach is more successful than forcing a child to eat something they don’t like, which often backfires in the long run. At these early stages of getting your child to expand their tastes, focus on exposure rather than whether they actually try it or not.

Would you like more tips on how to expand your child’s food variety? Please download my ‘How to get your child to try new food’ with lots more easy-to-follow tips.

Grace