Fruit, Veg & Kids – How to make it work Having a child who is a fussy eater can make meal times very stressful for the whole family. Many families find themselves preparing different meals for various members of the family, only to have these meals rejected when served. It is important to get on top of fussy eating behaviours as early as possible in order to set in place good eating habits and to reduce stress and unhappiness at meal times for both yourself and your children. Everyone you ask will have a variety of suggestions and opinions as to how to manage your child’s fussy eating but every child is different and so trying an assortment of things may be what you need to get your child back on track. Here are some strategies that have worked for children of all ages: • Offer an option of two meals or snacks that you are happy to provide – for example, an apple or an orange. This gives your child a feeling that they have been involved in the decision-making. •Remain calm – try to minimise attention to fussy eating behaviours. Limit the length of meal times and remove food at the end of that time; do not provide anything until the next meal or snack time. • Try to eat meals with your children so they can observe you eating the foods that you are encouraging them to try. • Involve your children in the cooking (if they are old enough to do so) and do some taste testing along the way. • Use play - there are many colouring books featuring foods, as well as toy 56 Everyday Health July 2010 model food sets which can help younger children become more familiar with different foods that they may then be willing to try. • Try the forbidden fruit/vegetable technique. Instead of promising sweets if a main meal is eaten, promise a piece of fruit or a particular vegetable as the special treat. Value can be added to any food you present in this way! • Introduce something new and provide it repeatedly for a few weeks so that your child gets used to it being on their plate. They may eventually try it just to see what all the fuss is about. Provide positive feedback when they play with it, put it in their mouths and of course if they eat it. Having a child who is a fussy eater can make meal times very stressful for the whole family • Depending on the age of your child, set up a fruit or vegetable challenge where you go along to the greengrocer together and they get to pick a new fruit or vegetable to try every week. Try to include their chosen food a few times that week. Perhaps get your child to create a scrapbook using cuttings from magazines or supermarket advertising so that they can look back at all the things they have tried since starting the challenge. They may not like all of the foods they try but hopefully they will find a few more that they are happy to include regularly. For older children, and parents who are young at heart, there are a number of useful government websites. The Go for 2 and 5 website (www.gofor2and5.com.au) contains fun facts and activities for children to learn more about fruit and vegetables, while the Go For Your Life website (www.goforyourlife.vic. gov.au) contains an abundance of information relating to nutrition as well as physical activity. Both websites contain many healthy recipes to help get you on the right track. • In a time when the rate of childhood obesity is growing rapidly, it is very important not to give your children foods of poor nutritional quality in the desire that they simply eat something. All children have a preference for sweet and salty foods, so will rarely decline an offer of these types of foods. Try only to provide these foods as a treat on special occasions. Both eating and meal times should be an enjoyable experience for the whole family. It is a time to spend together and catch up on the happenings of the day. Getting a handle on fussy eaters early on will help to ensure a happy and relaxed time for everyone concerned. This article was supplied by Miriam Raleigh Miriam is an experienced paediatric dietitian specialising in a wide range of nutritional issues including food allergy, faltering growth, obesity and fussy eating. Miriam now practices privately by appointment in Melbourne (with offices in St Kilda East and Clayton) and can be contacted on 0412 122 512 or by email: [email protected] The opinions in this article are not necessarily those of Everyday Health magazine, its principals, staff or agents and publication does not constitute or imply any endorsement or sponsorship of any product, service or organization unless otherwise stated. Everyday Health July 2010 57