Fussy eater

by Coram Family

My son is now nearly three years old. He's been a fussy eater since he started on textured foods. This may have been because he had a tendency to gag and vomit, so I kept him on pureed food until he was 12 months. Now he'll eat a limited number of foods such as pasta with one type of sauce or fish fingers and potato waffles, but he doesn't eat veggies or fresh fruit (he has baby fruit puree instead).

My biggest regret is that he refuses to eat bread of any description: fresh, toasted, pitta etc. are completely out. I've tried persuasion, coercion and telling him that when he's three he'll be a big boy and eat bread like other children do, but he's adamant he won't touch it. This makes it very difficult to eat on the go at weekends because I can't make sandwiches.

When we go to children's parties he hardly touches a thing. (He's allergic to egg too, so can't have cake.) Have you any suggestions about how I can encourage him to eat bread?
Marisa

answer

Children's food fads are extremely frustrating and often time-consuming because you have to fix alternatives, so I can understand your desperation.

I'm a great fan of making food fun. Fruit plates, on which you lay out little pieces of different coloured fruits in the form of a face or pattern, look very appetising and the child can decide which bit to eat first. He could be invited to decorate slices of pitta bread with either writing icing, pasta sauce or fruit puree, which might make them more appealing to him. Little cubes of bread or pitta could be incorporated in the fruit pattern.

And children love to be involved in making bread, which isn't difficult to do. He can decide what shape of roll or loaf to create. It smells wonderful as it cooks, and because it's his creation he may feel more inclined to eat it. Just in case he spots your plan, it might be sensible to start with cookies, or something like peppermint creams, and then move to the bread. It might also help if you leave the room while the delicious, still-warm bread is on the table. This way he'll feel no pressure to sample and every step of the production and eating process is in his hands. Meaning: less face to save.

It's often the case that the more parents make food an issue, the more children realise they can use it as a control mechanism. If you give your son plenty of choices over things like what colour socks he wears or what he'd like to play, he may decide to become more adventurous about what he eats. If he doesn't, don't fret. He's probably getting enough calories and he'll very likely grow out of it.

ivillage uk

Fussy eater