So what can we do as parents to help our little picky eaters?
Take the pressure off
Would you enjoy someone watching over you as you ate your dinner? Thought not! The same goes for kids – by hovering and keeping a beady eye on every bite taken, you may actually be adding more pressure to an already stressful situation. Try to take a more laid back approach if you can, and you might just find there’s less leftovers on the plate post tea time.
Get creative
Look, no one’s saying you have to spend hours over the stove each night. There’s super simple things you can do to make food more fun – try cutting sandwiches and fruit into fun shapes, get the kids involved with the meal prep, or let them choose a new recipe they’d like to try – whatever works for your little ones!
Don’t reward an empty plate with pudding
This might sound counterproductive – surely a sweet treat after dinner to say well done for cleaning their plate can’t hurt?! This can encourage eating when not hungry, and also could make your child start to categorise food – “nice foods”, like pudding, that you get as a reward for eating “nasty foods”…. like what you just served up for dinner! There’s nothing wrong with a dessert after dinner, just make sure it’s not given as a reward.
If all else fails – hide those veggies!
If you’re at the end of your tether and just want your kids to eat SOMETHING nutritious, you can always get sneaky. Spaghetti Bolognese is the perfect partner in crime to hide diced carrots, grated courgette, or minced mushrooms, and a lovely layer of mash on top of a shepherd’s pie can hide a whole range of veg.
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