Hello!

My daughter eats breakfast and lunch well and also enjoys a wide variety of foods but doesn’t really eat much dinner. I would like ideas on things that might tempt her to eat.


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  • my go-to was pasta. also sweet potato chips with some bought roast chicken. fruit.


  • if she eats well during the day i would not be worried to much if she dosent eat at dinner. but i always find with my kids anything with pasta is a winner ,lasange,spaghetti bolognas,cannelloni ect


  • If they ask for drinks during late afternoon only give them water to drink. If they are thirsty enough they will drink it. You have to be careful they don’t dehydrate. I was told by a Dr. on Friday by the time you know you are thirsty often you are already starting to dehydrate. I was making that mistake myself.


  • Cut out snacks, this will make her hungry at dinner time. Make the food fun. Lots of colour, shapes etc. and get her to help prepare the food, they love this!


  • Ive had similar problems with my daughter. I make pictures (flowers, fish, etc). Theres a plate that i got from Australis Post Office which has a picture of a face on it then you had hair etc that has worked wonders for us and even getting my daughter to help cook or choose what we are having for dinner has helped a lot as well. Good luck.


  • Distractions, self feeding and being fed at the same time has seemed to work so far for my 20 month old. Spinach, cheese and rice balls seem to work as well.


  • ok try cutting out her milk drinks from 3 pm
    Afternoon tea needs to be small
    get her to help choice ideas for tea.
    get your daughter to help make the tea.
    are you putting to much on her plate as some children get over whelemed when their is lots in front of them
    give her half the amount and see who that goes./
    let her know once she is finished there is desert but it doesnt have to be ice cream or cakes every night it can be fruit or an icey pole or custard.

    i had the same problem but once i realized we was putting to much we made it smaller and then all good.

    let her know once she is finished if she likes she can have more.

    But stick to NO FOOD or drinks AFTER 4 PM if you have tea at 6 pm.
    as water is just as bad as they fill up on water and drinks and will not eat.


  • This just reminded me. My husband made my 3 year old a face out of her pancake and fruit the other day. She completely lost it. She was so mad at him for it. We were both almost in hysterics. Apparently our child doesn’t like food made into fun things, she just likes food the way it is.


  • my fussy eater, likes fun stuff like spaghetti, tacos and sausages. cant get vegies into him, we use multi vitamins


  • Just know that It’s normal. I’ve read this question many times on forums and it happened with my son. They are eating well during the day so don’t worry.
    My son would always eat salad so many times I just made do with that.
    Not sure if you’ve seem these plates, but it might make dinner more interesting and fun.


  • Try to serve her dinner as finger food (little sushi filled with avocado), fish/chicken nugget with steam veggies cut in little pieces. Make sure the food portion is not too big.


  • Try not to focus too much attention on it. They go through stages where they don’t eat so much. She will start again once she has a growth spurt coming. My little one used to eat loads through the day but barely ate dinner. She still does sometimes. As long as she is healthy and happy I wouldn’t worry. The more you focus on it the harder and more stressful it will become.


  • I agree cut out any snacks in the afternoon except for a little fruit.
    Dinner could be later say 6-7pm. Still make bath and bedtime the next hour or so. Keeping a routine. Children who drink milk feel fuller so check how much she is drinking. So long as she is sleeping well during the night I would not worry. You could make her main meal at lunch time if that suits you and her.


  • If she is too tired she may not be interested in eating.
    Does she got to childcare at all? If so ask what and how much she has eaten during the day. They should be willing to tell you. In fact sometimes the staff told her what her daughter had eaten before she got a chance if her little one saw her enter the room and ran up to her. Previous to that my niece couldn’t work out why sometimes her daughter didn’t want to eat. She also discovered that she was giving her the same as she had already had for lunch. If a child is at childcare all day from really early in the morning they are given breakfast, morning snack, a cooked lunch and an afternoon snack. Snacks are usually freshly chopped up fruit – as much as they ask for.


  • sounds as tho you are going good,your daughter eating variety of things. Why not make dinner nibble type nutrition, grilled cheese soldiers,little tomato’s,carrot sticks. Or fruit and yoghurt or jelly, banana split and custard. Sometimes we want sweet but good for us
    all the best


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