10 tips to help food refusal

There are certain foods some children just love to avoid. Sometimes, they genuinely just don’t like them, and that’s OK because we all have different tastes. But, when food refusal starts happening to whole food groups, or colours, or textures it can become a problem. You might like to read out posts on Fussy Eating, and The Mealtime Ritual to get some other ideas, or read about our Tasting Plate method.

Firstly, try and find out what caused the problem in the first place, and then you will be in a better position to resolve it. You may even find a cheeky older sibling has been telling a few nasty tales about broccoli.

So here are our 10 quick tips to help your child eat their greens, or red, or purples, or yellows…

Let them grow it

• Start a veggie patch
• Plant some herbs
• Buy an orange tree
• Create a “grass head” or other activity

 Shop together

• Pick it out together at the fruit market
• Feel it, smell it, squeeze it

 Prepare together

• Prepare the food for eating together
• Young toddlers can help with basic things

 Serve it differently

• Steam
• Mash
• Bake
• Put it in a soup
• Puree
• Freeze

Dip it

• Kids love to dip food
• Use the food as a dipper or as an ingredient in the dip

 Cover it

• Cover it with something healthy
• Sprinkle cheese on it
• Cover it with white sauce

Make it funny

• Give it a funny name
• Make a funny face while eating it
• Make up a story about it

Get your timing right

• Serve it when you know they’re hungry

Eat it in a social setting

• Eat it with other kids who love it
• Eat it somewhere fun, make a picnic

Eat it yourself

• Eat the food yourself with lots of enjoyment
• Be open to trying new foods