It’s been a stressful day. After an exhausting time at work, you’re rushing around preparing dinner, only to have your little one refuse to eat it. With every “no,” you feel your stress levels rising! How can you convince your child to eat their food?

When your child starts discovering they can say “no,” you’ll find that they’ll start repeating it hundreds of times a day. This is a phase that most toddlers go through. We understand how this can cause a lot of stress for parents, especially regarding food. It can feel like the end of the world if your little one refuses to eat. But don’t worry; refusing food is common with toddlers. We may not be able to change our toddler’s fussy eating habits, but what we can change is how we react to them.

What do I do if they don’t want to eat?

Here are the best solutions for helping a toddler who is refusing to eat:

First, try to stay as neutral as possible. Refusing to eat can get a strong reaction from parents, and the more upset you get, the more the problem can increase. If you get upset, it shows the child that they have control of the situation and will do it more often. Stay calm and carry on with the rest of the tips.

If they have suddenly decided not to eat and are showing signs of illness, take them to their doctor to rule out any medical issues.

Make sure you have consistent mealtimes. This will usually be breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snack periods. If your child refuses to eat, don’t give them a snack 10 minutes later, as that will disrupt their mealtime. Stick to the plan. It is common for young children to not eat well at one or more of their meals in a day.

Sit down with them so they learn that when they’re eating, this is what you’re going to do every time.

Don’t offer options or bargain with them. You are in control, not them. You can offer two courses, for example, a variety of vegetables to start with or some fruit and yoghurt to follow, but these should not be used as bargaining tools and should be offered regardless of how much they eat for the main meal.

Start off with small portions. If they do end up still hungry, you can give them some more later. But if your little one thinks their meal is too big from the start, that can be a reason why they don’t want to eat.

If they throw their food or shout, calmly take the food away and clean up the mess. Offer the second course if they will take it. Aim to complete a meal within 30 minutes, and simply remove the meal after this time. Offer them the following meal or snack as per their schedule, rather than a snack or alternative meal a few minutes later.

Make sure that you’re offering a variety of meals over the course of the week. Even toddlers notice when they’re being given the same food every day and can get bored by it.

Have a look at their snacking situation. Often, when a parent says their child isn't eating, the toddler won’t eat at mealtimes but loves snacking. Keep snack time to two periods of the day, and don’t give them too much. Avoid sugary snacks and focus on healthier options, like fruit, yoghurt, and crackers.

Consider what liquids your child is drinking. Juices and milk can be very filling between meals. Instead, give them diluted juice or water to ensure they don’t get too full before a meal.

What do I do if my toddler is refusing to eat?

From Unii’s Toddler Nutrition Journey, we look at what to do about food refusal.