Many children go through a phase of fussy eating. It's important to continue to offer children a range of foods to encourage them to eat a healthy balanced diet.

It's important to speak to your GP if you are concerned about your child's weight or growth, if you suspect they have a deficiency or allergy, if they're chronically constipated or if they eat less than 10 different foods.

It's a good idea to write down what your child does eat using a food diary, to track what they eat, how much of it, where and when they eat. Think about what might have impacted their decisions to eat; were they sat in a different place, was it served on a different plate, who else was there, was it noisy or were they distracted by the TV? Is there something in common about the foods they do eat; the texture (e.g. crunchy foods or soft), the colour (e.g. often beige), the shape, the temperature, the way it's eaten (e.g. with their hands)? This might help you notice trends in the foods they do eat or the environment which encourages them to eat.

Top Tips for Fussy Eaters:

  • Stick to a routine with meals and snacks so children know when to expect food.
  • Choose an appropriate seat for your child and eat meals in the same place if possible.
  • Eat together as a family at mealtimes to make them more enjoyable for children and eating the same meals shows them that you enjoy eating healthy meals too.
  • Give children familiar foods alongside new foods to try.
  • New foods should be tried several times as studies show children may need to try a food more than 10 times before they accept it.
  • Avoid pressuring your child at the dinner table, keep talking about other things.
  • Avoid using food as a reward for good behaviour.
  • Try not to worry about your child's eating, every child is different and their eating habits will change as they grow.
  • Getting children involved can encourage them to try new foods. This could be picking a new food to try at the supermarket or helping prepare/cook the food at home.
  • Giving children a choice can help them feel more in control and more likely to try the food - such as peas or carrots with their tea.
  • Helping prepare the food, or offering messy play with food will give children a chance to use their other senses.
  • Try Food Chaining to offer foods similar to those already liked.
  • You may wish to consider buying an age-appropriate multivitamin for your child, to ensure your child is meeting their requirements. Speak to a pharmacist for advice.

ARFID is an eating disorder affecting the variety of foods a child eats, which can lead to deficiencies and faltering growth (weight loss) and in some cases may require nutritional supplements. Children with ARFID often avoid entire food groups and have very few 'safe' foods (often less than 10). These children tend to be very sensitive to taste, texture and appearance of foods and may have experienced distress with food e.g. choking, vomiting, reflux.

Children on the autism spectrum or those with ADHD are more likely to develop ARFID. If you are concerned your child has ARFID speak to your child's GP.

Using a child's senses

When introducing your child to a new food it's important to consider using their other senses before tasting it, to help make the food more familiar. You may wish to spend time on each of the senses separately on multiple occasions for each new food you offer. Consider the amount of the food you are using - start with a small piece of the food, and try not to overwhelm your child with too many new foods at once.

Regularly seeing the new food is the start of the food becoming familiar - perhaps in the kitchen, on the table, on a family members' plate or in a bowl next to your child's plate. Looking at pictures can also help. Try reading books or playing games which include pictures of these foods.

Making a food more familiar through touch can help. Your child may start by touching the food with their fingertips, then holding the food, then touching it with their lips. Offer your child time to play with new foods (not at mealtimes), where there is no expectation for them to try the food - they are simply encouraged to touch and play with it.

Offering your child a chance to smell the food can help them to begin to build up an idea of the flavour of the food.

When they are ready to taste the food he/she may choose to lick the food, or may bite the food but spit it out. This can increase their awareness of the food, building up to tolerating it. It's important to continue to revisit the food multiple times (ideally 10 or more). When tasting new foods it's a good idea to offer two familiar or liked foods, with the new food to reduce anxiety.

Food chaining

Food chaining is about taking a food which your child likes, and slowly introducing subtle variations to help your child accept a new food. It's important to take small steps, going at your child's pace.

  • Favourite cheese cracker > Different shaped cheese cracker > Different flavoured cheese cracker > Plain cracker with cheese > Toast with cheese > Cheese toastie > Potato with cheese > Vegetables with cheese
  • McDonalds French fries > Burger King French fries > Oven cooked at home French fries > Homemade French fries > Chunky chips > Smiley faces > Fried potato > Roast potato > Mashed potato

You may wish to start with only a very small amount of the new food e.g. 3 of their usual crackers on their plate, with 1 new cracker in a bowl, so the child has a 'safe' food as well as the choice to try the new food. It may take weeks to progress through a chain but that's ok - it has potential to expand the number of foods your child will accept.

This approach is about encouraging, not forcing. It's important not to pressure your child. As a parent your role is to continue to offer more variety, but it is your child's decision whether they eat it and if so, how much they choose to eat. You may wish to combine this approach with using their senses. Children should be praised for trying new foods, through words and body language. Reward or sticker charts may be useful, or you may choose to reward with a fun activity for larger milestones.

Supplements

If your child is an extremely fussy eater, they may not be getting enough vitamins, minerals and iron.  However, if they are choosing high calorie foods, they may still be growing well.

In this situation it is not recommended that children are given nutritional supplements in the form of high protein milk shakes, yoghurts and juices, as these contain a high amount of calories, which may will encourage excessive weight gain.

Instead it may be helpful to purchase an over the counter, age appropriate, vitamin and mineral supplement. There are a huge amount of multi-vitamin products available for children but as we often notice fussy eaters struggle to consume enough minerals including Iron, Calcium, Iodine and Zinc, it's best to choose one that contains both vitamins and minerals. It's important to look at the packaging to identify which products are most suitable for your child.

Some examples of vitamin and mineral products for children include:

  • Some of the Wellbaby,/ Wellkid and Wellteen range (some of their products are vitamin only so remember to read the label)
  • Boots Kids Daily Health A - Z Multi-vitamin and Minerals
  • Superdrug Kids A-Z Multi-vitamin
  • Nutrigen Vitamixin Sprinkles (these can be added to semi-solid foods like mashed potato)

There are also some products specifically focusing on individual minerals such as:

Iron:

  • Feroglobin liquid
  • Chewwies iron and vitamin C gummies
  • HalibOrange iron and vitamin C softies

Calcium:

  • Osteocare Liquid
  • HalibOrange calcium and vitamin D softies
  • Welkid calcium liquid

Always check the product is age-appropriate for your child. Never exceed the recommended dose. Always check products for allergens if your child has an allergy. Speak to a Pharmacist for advice.