When parents have asked me what to do about fussy eaters at home: I share four ideas that have worked for me – fingers crossed for you.
1. Congratulate your child on being fussy! They are probably mimicking your own selective behaviour as you improve your own diet. Honestly, fussiness is worthy of praise.
Encourage them to pick their food wisely. Choose the food that is alive, whole, tastes vibrant and looks like it has just been picked.
Give your kids guidance and in-depth lessons on the many fantastic properties of each healthy ingredient on their plate.
Tell them that you are proud that they like to pick their food. Now, it’s a matter of picking the food that is good for their body and helps them to feel happy, strong and to have beautiful dreams at night. Well done on choosing food!
2. Don’t take your kids to the supermarket. Just change that routine, for a while. You cannot eliminate them being fascinated with packet food (and turning down home food) if they know it’s available because they saw it in the aisles on Monday.
Just do yourself a favour and switch to online ordering. It’ll make a difference, I promise, because your little kids will have less opportunity to think about it. It’ll just disappear from their lives.
3. Stay consistent and tell your kids you love them and because you love them you will ONLY EVER buy them the very best.
It’s the very special job of a guardian 🙂
4. VISUALISE the outcome that you want. Imagine the smiling faces of your kids eating fruit and vegetables, and all the other good healthy treats you make everyday. (Carob cookies, Banana ice cream, Kebabs and special fried rice, Vegie-packed lasagne, home-made noodle-box, seafood marinara, home-made fish and chips, spaghetti bolognaise with fresh vegies and zoodle-pasta, polenta or potato gnocchi.)
Visualisation works.
Imagine your ideal response. See your children enthusiastically eating your meals. And talk about what you see! Write it on your dream board. Put a magazine picture on your wall.
Thank your children for being amazing and smile at the dinner table.
Day by day we aim to repair our bodies and have trust, faith and optimism for the future. You can join me as I walk to wellness in the private facebook group Joanna Haley Homestead (Journey to Wellness)
Joanna Haley, Author