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Creative ways to help a fussy eater

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Creative ways to help a fussy eater

In the Southern hemisphere it’s school holidays, so the perfect time to do some fun stuff with the children.

If we have a fussy eater, then involving them more in the food sphere is helpful. It is probably not going to make a magical change in how a child eats, but it is one extra thing that is supportive. Eating, like reading is multiple touch-points.

Interacting with food in any way helps to build a comfort level with it and that is always our goal as a parent, to help our child become more comfortable around food. The more food anxious they are, the more important it is.

Experimenting away from the table can really help as it takes away the pressure of eating. None of these suggestions are about “getting your child to eat something new”, all of them are about building comfort, which longer-term will be helpful for eating variety.

Thinking of these as building blocks rather than a magic wand can help us (and them) relax and enjoy the process. Reading one book doesn’t make our child read, but each one we share with them, gets them closer to doing so!

Creative ways to help a fussy eater

These are in no particular order and can be adapted to suit a child’s age and stage. Even if your child is older, please do not rule out things. Most things can capture interest even for those tough tweens and teens.

I can just imagine how my teens would roll their eyes and yet be looking on curiously if I did some of these things.

1. Songs/phrases – changing the words of songs or common phrases to include a food. It can be done in ways of love. It can be done to be silly, and it can be done to get attention. Which song/phrase you use and how you do it depends on the age of your child.

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I am picturing my boy’s response if I substituted food for a key word in a contemporary song 😊. I remember for a while we used ‘panda’ as a substitute expletive and all of us still sometimes occasionally use it for entertainment value!

For littlies there are so many songs that could resonate for them and sound so different with a food substituted for a word.

2. Food art – this can be super complex or really basic. I used to do this all the time for my boys, but admittedly as much for me as them!

I used to run sessions in schools and community groups, and it is always great fun. You can chop some fruit and veg or other foods into shapes and then let children build a picture. Or give them free rein to get creative.

It’s a fun activity to do when friends are over too. It means they are touching foods, interacting with them, becoming more comfortable handling them and perhaps even thinking about eating them.

3. Growing seeds – in New Zealand one of the supermarkets is running their regular spring promotion. You receive little individual pots with seedlings to grow as you spend.

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It totally brings out the inner child in me as I am excited to get them home and see which ones we have received. I have a growing collection on the kitchen windowsill.

I know one of my neighbours transplanted theirs into the front garden last year and they had the most amazing display of veg.

If you’re elsewhere or don’t shop at the supermarket, growing seedlings can be really simple. When I was young we used to grow cress in a cleaning cloth soaked in water in an old meat try on the kitchen windowsill. It doesn’t have to be complicated.

Even in middle-age there is something magical about watching seedlings grow. Or instead of seedlings you can use the bottom of a lettuce immersed in water to grow new shoots.

It’s great for children to understand how and why plants grow, to water them and watch them angle towards the sun and talk science too!

4. Painting – using spices to paint can be great fun. Brightly coloured spices like turmeric or paprika can be mixed with water and used as paint for brushes, fingers, or stamps. Not only do you get the colour, but you get the aroma.

Just make sure clothes and tables are well protected as spices can also stain. Perhaps it’s a good outside activity!

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5. Colour coded meals – it can be fun to make everything on the plate the same colour, especially if that is a bit whacky. And yes, I realise most picky eaters prefer everything beige 😉 However, we can make it fun using a brighter colour.

For example, having a red apple, jam on toast, red jelly, and strawberry ice cream. Or you could change the colour of things using a natural food colour. Blue milk on the cereal, blueberries, and blue yoghurt.

Any time our child’s meal is a little different it’s a positive. If we can make meals more interesting and fun and have a child interacting with food, it’s a win.

6. Dips & sauces – for some children these are a win, for others, anything liquid is a flat no! That’s okay, I have a substitute!

For those who enjoy dips or sauces it can be great fun to have different bowls and the opportunity to dip foods in. Using a skewer or cocktail stick (they have safer ones for littlies) or just fingers, we can dip into sauces.

If liquid is a no, what about ice cream or yoghurt? Can a child dip cookies, crackers, or fruit into a bowl of ice cream? Teaching a child to mix foods is great skill building.

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Or if mixing even with ice cream is a no, then what about using sprinkles or choc chips to dip into for sweet things. Or perhaps salt (have a few grains in a bowl) for savoury foods.

7. Recipe search – looking through recipe books or web-based searches can be a great way to give our child charge over what we’re going to cook. It could be savoury, or we could do desserts.

Having something that everyone is excited about can be a really positive experience.

Although these sort of experiences can be fun, it’s also important that we don’t make them about eating. It’s not unusual for hesitant eaters to get all excited about making something, get to the end and not be able to eat it.

Rather than being disappointed and feeling we have wasted our time, I like to reframe and think of it as a great opportunity to have a child interested, engaged, and excited around food. These experiences do help!!

8. Nibble tray/muffin tray – preparing a nibble tray can be excellent whether our child is 5 or 15. We can arrange lots of little tasting options in tiny bowls, silicon holders or even muffin tins.

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Even as an adult we are drawn to beautifully presented food and having lots of different things to pick from can be fun.

We can serve these directly to our child or put them in the fridge and have them grab them when they are ready for morning tea or lunch.

Hopefully this has given you a few new things to try with the children. As I was writing I realised how many ideas I had so next week look out for part 2.

Please also feel free to share with other parents 😊

Judith, MA Cantab, is an AOTA accredited picky eating advisor and internationally certified nutritional therapist. She works with 100+ families every year resolving fussy eating and returning pleasure and joy to the meal table.
She is also mum to two boys and the author of Creating Confident Eaters and Winner Winner I Eat Dinner. Her dream is that every child is able to approach food from a place of safety and joy, not fear.
Learn more about Judith here: https://theconfidenteater.com/about/

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