Calling ALL parents with fussy-eating toddlers. Most of us have been there – once upon a time your little ones might have been the ‘perfect eater’ – and if they still are, you can close this page now, as it means we can no longer be friends… 😉
When weaning our babies around the 6-month mark, the amount of time, effort, energy (and sometimes money) spent can be obscene. We often put our heart and souls in to the encouragement (or enforcement) of a healthy and balanced diet from a young age, to get our kiddies liking (or at least used to) vegetables and other nutritional foods. We feel so proud of our achievements when they happily scoff large clumps of broccoli, eat scrambled egg, get excited for vegetable and lentil stews, enjoy the texture of meat and fish and could eat avocado all day long if they could. And if your kid is happily eating celery sticks and spoons of dry quinoa, again – we can no longer be friends!
This isn’t always the case as they get older. As they become exposed to other foods, or as naturally implanted in to their DNA, the fussy eating phase, for so many of us, is somewhat inevitable as they approach toddler years.
Suddenly, often between the age of 1 and 2, out of no where, that piece of broccoli is repeatedly thrown on the floor, they’re refusing the blueberries that you’ve spent a small fortune on, the homemade fish cakes you’ve lovingly batch made are now refused. As a parent it can actually feel frustrating and a sense of failure – well it did for me anyway.
Cue Lucy of TeenyWeanies, who runs workshops, courses and 1:1 appointments in person or via video call – she preps you for the weaning process – i.e. for new mums looking for support, advice and preparation for their weaning journeys, as well as the very popular fussy eating workshops. Lucy is also a paediatric dietitian working with the NHS.
Lucy has answered a number of questions for me for this blog post, all aimed towards fussy eating toddlers (as I am currently experience a slightly fussy 2 year old). She gives tips on a number of matters and clears up a few points which can often cause a debate as well as tips and tricks to help encourage their eating habits, taste buds and variety in to their diets.
In her own weaning experience, she found lots of information conflicting and came across many parents who were confused about introducing solid food – when to start, what foods to give, and thus Lucy is on a mission to help parents feel informed and receive up to date, unbiased, and evidence based information through her work with TeenyWeanies…
Henry with his kitchen on Christmas morning. Advice from friends suggested to learn about foods through play may help broaden his knowledge and interest in food.
Flamingo Monroe 