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“Yuck, I don’t like it!”… the catch phrase of a fussy eater

But given that 94.4% of Australian adults are not consuming the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables each day, I have a sneaking suspicion that it is not only children who push their plate away at the sight of Brussel sprouts.

Parents Need To Be Role Models

Parents are significant role models in the development of children’s eating habits as well as largely responsible for the foods purchased, prepared and provided to children. Given this, it is particularly concerning that 22% of parents are self-confessed ‘fussy eaters,’ and it seems no coincidence that 78% of children 4-8 years and 95% of teenagers 14 -16 years, similarly to their parents, fail to consume the recommended amount of vegetables each day.

Of course, there are many factors which influence eating behaviours and some degree of “fussiness” in young children is normal and to be expected.

Fussiness Starts Early

From around 12 months of age, as a child begins to assert their independence, playtime takes priority and food refusal, preferences, pickiness, and general uncooperativeness at meal times, is a common problem. On occasions, feeding difficulties and fussy eating behaviours are underpinned by medical or developmental issues, in which case professional intervention should be sought. Under normal circumstances, however, parents who are fussy eaters create the perfect environment to promote ‘fussiness’ and typically provide a diet with limited variety and limited opportunities for children to explore new and different foods.

Enjoying a wide variety of foods every day is important as it ensures a broad scope of nutrients within the diet which are essential for good health, growth and development. Regular and sufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables is extremely important, with 2% of all deaths in 2003 directly attributed to insufficient fruit and vegetable intakes.

Managing fussy eating

It is going to come as no surprise that my first and foremost strategy to assist children overcome ‘fussiness’ is to role model positive, healthy eating behaviours –

Eat and enjoy (or at least pretend to) foods from each of the five food groups (grains and cereals; fruit; vegetables; milks, cheese, yoghurts and alternatives; meats, nuts, eggs, and legumes), every day.

Be excited and enthusiastic to try new foods and different recipes.

Try setting yourself a goal to trying one new fruit or vegetable a week and allow children to be involved in choosing which ones to try.

Remember to buy in season (these will be the cheapest) and always choose Australian grown where possible.

Encouraging children to be involved in preparing foods, not only introduces important lifelong skills, but also allows children to become familiar with the texture and smells of new and different foods before they are expected to eat them.

From about 2 years of age children can be involved in a variety of age-appropriate cooking activities which can assist overcome fussy eating behaviours whilst also being a lot of fun. It is important to have age appropriate expectation of your child (as detailed in My Kitchen Milestones) and be prepared for a messy. If spending the afternoon cleaning the kitchen isn’t your idea of fun, try taking your cooking activity outside.

If you’re stuck for ideas of what to make with your budding little chefs, head over to The Kids Menu and download the free e-book ‘14 Healthy Kids Recipes’ which contains simple, fun recipes to engage children in the joy of cooking and healthy eating – it might even inspire a few fussy parents too.

  • My brother was a fussy eater and would only eat sausage rolls for lunch at school and when he went to Macca’s would have to have a special order Junior Burger with just the meat and the bun!! However these days he is in his 30’s and has even enjoyed whale on a recent holiday!

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  • Love my brussel sprouts but admit my kids have probably picked up some not so good habits.

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  • Two out of three of my children hate veggies but they all love fruit. In fact they like fruit a lot more than their father and I.

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  • I was lucky, I never had a fussy eater. So I can really feel for those that do. As my children ate most foods, if they came across something they didn’t think they would like, too bad, they missed out. Some one else would eat it.

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  • Growing up with limited food means now I eat bugger all and love plain food, literally just pasta and butter im happy. Makes it hard to get her to try things when I cant.
    Im slowly mastering the stash in cheek, ‘go to toilet’ and spit out before I throw up so she can see me ‘try’ something new. As yet she hasn’t caught on

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  • I really like the goal of trying one new food a week – I think I could turn that into a bit of a game with my kids, which may work well as they’re usually game for a game of any kind!

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  • I feel blessed to not have fussy eaters, but I can see how people can create these habits. It’s horrible to see a child that ‘won’t eat anything but nuggets’…. There had to be a reason for this! My children don’t get to pick and choose our main meals, and when they pick snacks they only have healthy options.

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  • I am so lucky with having kids that eat what we eat, I do believe it does start with us as parents to set the example, my kids are fussy but love brussel sprouts so I can’t complain

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  • We are very lucky to have a little piggy who eats virtually anything!

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  • Our son has always eaten what we eat. He even compares our plates to his to make sure that it is the same food. As a result he is not remotely a fussy eater. Being a 2 yo, he has his days but basically he is really good. I don’t know many toddlers who would say “Sprouts YUM!” when given Brussels Sprouts with dinner, but ours does. So far he is really good.

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  • I loved reading this post- proper diet is so important for growing bodies.

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  • Couldn’t agree more, if parents don’t eat veggies, there’s no way their kiddies will.

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  • Thanks Nikki for the great article. My daughter was a fussy eater as a baby, my son consumed everything, they are both healthy adults now.

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  • My kids will only eat certain vegies.

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  • There are certain food I don’t like (such as raw tomatoes, eggs), but I try to encourage my 3yo to at least try everything on his plate. My 8mo on the other hand will eat just about anything!

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  • My son loved his veg and all of a sudden nope will not eat them at all. Even if I smuggle them in spag bol he eats the noodles and leaves everything else. I keep trying with them and fingers crossed he will soon outgrow the fussy stage and eat everything again

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  • My youngest is just reaching this stage- but has problems hearing andw ith ears which has a lot to do with it, My older kids have gone thtough different stages too, I just keep offering, sask them to at least try it and if they don’t like it that’s ok. They use to hate cauliflour now its their favourite veg

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  • My kids like all vegetables except beans cos they are harder to chew ( my kids are 1 and 3) but I must admit they may have been turned off tomatoes cos I can’t stand them due to being allergic lol.

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  • Totally agree we have to set example for kids by eating healthy …..

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  • My Son actually is the opposite of most Kids I am Blessed he turns his nose up at anything that is Bad Food and Absolutely Loves all Fruit and Vegetables. My Husband was extremely Fussy when I first met him but more so because his mother would only feed them what they liked or asked for. he has since changed his tune after living with me lol

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