Every parent of small children has a different experience of raising their kids, but the one thing that the majority of parents have in common is having to deal with fussy eaters. Although as babies, children tend to eat pretty much anything that’s put in front of them, as they begin to get older, they start to become a lot pickier, sometimes refusing food before they’ve even tasted it. It can become frustrating for parents, and easy for arguments and tantrums to occur. Here are some great ways to make food more fun for fussy eaters, which in turn will persuade them to eat better.
Make It Colorful
Bright, colorful foods are naturally more appealing to children, and look a lot more interesting on a plate than beige and brown food. By focusing on making sure there is at least some color on your child’s plate, you can entice them to be more interested in the meal as a whole and to sit down and try what you are offering. As a bonus, the more colorful foods tend to be the ones that are healthier and better for you, so you can not only make sure your kid eats but that they eat the right kinds of food. If you want to take it a step further and make it more of a game, get your children to see who can be the first to eat a rainbow throughout the day!
What Are Their Hobbies?
Another great way to get your children more interested in food is to try to incorporate their hobbies into your meals. It might not work with everything, but it’s fun to try! If your children love geography and learning about other cultures, you can give them food that represents that, and peaks their interest. If they love to read, find out where their favorite book is set, or discover meals within the book (Harry Potter, for example, had plenty of feasts!) and try to make something similar.
Make Up Crazy Names
If you change the name of the meal to something really silly and funny, it’s much more likely that your child will want to try it. It works in restaurants on kids’ menus, so why not at home too? Of course, it’s important to teach your children the proper names of fruit and vegetables, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have silly names too!
Present It Differently
A change in the way you serve and present the food can make all the difference to whether your child will eat it or not. Instead of giving your child a whole or sliced apple, why not cut it into chunks and present it as a kebab (you can put pineapple and strawberries, or other berries, on there too)? Or you can add a dip option (easily made from scratch) instead of ketchup or gravy. You can even try cooking food in a different way, such as on a barbecue or using pellet smokers.
Get Them Involved
If your children are involved in the food preparation, then they are much more invested in the meal in general and are more likely to eat it. Preparing the food takes away any mystery of what’s in it because they know exactly, plus it gives the children a sense of pride that they made it, so they won’t want to waste it, or run the risk of other people thinking it’s no good if they leave it!
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