Although picky eating is very common for young children, we understand it can be a distressing issue to deal with as a parent. We believe it’s important to focus on solutions, not problems, so we’ll explain how to work towards some practical solutions for your 3-5 year old child in this area.

First of all, it’s really important to remember that when working with children experiencing picky eating behaviours, you are supportive and loving at all times. Choosing to work with your children to find solutions will always work much better than becoming frustrated and angry while trying to control the situation. It will also ensure that the situation regarding any picky eating isn’t made any worse.

So, let’s explore some straightforward strategies that will help you deal with picky eating behaviours in a healthy, constructive and loving way:

How can I help my child if they are picky eaters?

Provide a Safety Net

For children that are wary of unfamiliar foods, a great strategy is to have a small plate or bowl which your child can use to serve themselves items they don’t feel particularly sure about. This is commonly called a ‘tasting’ or ‘learning’ bowl. This way, you have opened up the opportunity for your child to try something new without any pressure. Remember that children sometimes don’t respond well in pressurised situations and will react more positively if they are given space, time and respect to figure things out by themselves.

Building Blocks

The building blocks strategy is beneficial when working with children at mealtimes. The strategy consists of building on the foundations already in place and is a two-phase approach. The first phase involves helping your child become used to small changes in foods they consider safe. The second is about helping your child to learn to accept new foods that differ slightly from foods they consider safe.

In the first phase, if your child is used to eating apple slices at snack time, you could try to serve grated apple instead: the same food but served in another way. In the second phase, the child will learn to accept small alterations to their safe foods like this, as you slowly start to increase the variation over time. For example, if a child likes to eat pasta spirals, you could serve the red version of the same pasta.

Ultimately, if a picky eater limits the number of foods they accept in order to feel secure, it helps them to learn that they can have pasta that is slightly different and nothing bad happens, and then their confidence will grow over time.

Other simple practices to help:

Remember to always include at least one food that the child accepts with every snack and meal.

Make a habit out of eating at a table without the distraction of screens.

Serve your child new foods alongside foods your child considers to be safe, and try to introduce new foods that are as similar to safe foods as possible, as well as more ‘ambitious’ items.

Slightly alter and rotate foods your child considers safe as much as possible to maximise the variety in their diet.

Never encourage or force children to eat through reasoning, bribing, bargaining or insisting. It’s good practice to let them make their own eating decisions.

During mealtimes, don’t overly focus on how the child is eating; instead, turn your attention to conversation and discuss everyone’s day. Enjoy each other's company!

Try to make sure that mealtimes are a relaxed and positive time, where children don’t feel pressured or scared in any way.

Try to keep to a clear meal and snack structure without grazing, as this encourages bad eating habits. Leave at least two hours, and not more than three, between eating opportunities.

How do I respond to my child being a picky eater?

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