Let's Talk Picky Eaters!

Picture this...

Imagine a world where your child eats everything and anything! Sure, some parents get lucky and have exactly that. But on the other hand, there are parents who feel the weight of the world on their shoulders at every mealtime!

If that's you, not to worry! We know how draining it is to deal with picky eating, and we have a couple of ideas up our sleeves to help.

• When you start introducing solid foods, it's important to offer a wide variety of foods - including more savoury and bitter foods, to help them develop a liking for flavours beyond just sweet and sugary. By default, babies are programmed to like sweet foods, so this is your time to train their palate into liking foods that are healthy and more sophisticated in taste! So offer them their greens first and often!

• Fussy eating is much more common than you might think! Repeat after us: It's not just your child and it's definitely not something you did 'wrong'. Even babies who eat their greens brilliantly will get fussy around food as they become toddlers. Often fussiness is just a stage and can be reversed with the right attitude - don't blame yourself.

• Be persistent! Babies like familiarity because it makes them feel safe. And so it goes for foods...So the next time they spit something out or gag with dislike, try again. It can take up to 20 tries before your baby actually accepts and gets used to the flavour of something! Stay calm and persistent!

• It can be so easy and convenient to offer pouches of processed baby food. We've all done it! But it is so important to offer your baby "real" food! By that we mean food that hasn't be processed or made shelf-stable or long-life. Most of the time, it's a lack of awareness, education and camouflaged marketing that entices us in and convinces us to just go with the pouches. Buying these doesn't make you a bad parent! We always say, there's a time and a place. Try offering them home-cooked puree and meals, and if sometimes you need a break and are looking for a helping hand try Mamamade's organic ready to eat frozen baby meal options.

• Don't offer alternatives at mealtime! Often fussy eaters are testing you and your boundaries...Be patient and know that it might take a little bit of time and tears but they will come around! Stay firm, calm, and don't force them to eat - but also don't offer a Menu B.

• Model the behaviour you wish to see. Try sitting down with your baby at mealtimes, turn off any distractions and have a chat about their day! You'd be surprised at the things they come up with even if it's just some babbles. Maybe even try eating with them so that they can see how it's done. Try showing them how to enjoy their food, by saying positive things about the taste and really bigging it up!

• Let's just take a few minutes to come to a realisation of the fact that, they won't starve themselves! Let's be honest how many times have we gone to the kitchen for yourselves, looked at the leftovers and said "I'm not feeling that" and then when our belly starts rumbling we end up eating it anyway. It's human nature, whether it's an adult or a child.

• They might only want the amount they've had! Let's not force-feed. Because if you do they might end up getting into the routine of playing up. Make sure that you offer them an appropriate amount for their age and then leave it up to them. They'll take what they need.

We aren't going to pretend that it's easy to deal with a picky eater because it's not! But we can be there with you every step of the way. Message us with any question you may have or even if you just want to have a chat! All of our subscriptions come with 1:1 mealtime coaching. We're a community for parents and that includes you...

Love,

Team Mamamade