How can I encourage my child to eat a wider variety of food?

This is a very good question and one I’m sure is on the minds of the vast majority of parents that are navigating fussy eating. 

There is of course, a very long, multi-faceted answer to this (which can be heard through our on-demand audio course), but to give you a quick answer and a great starting point, the best way to encourage your child to eat a wider variety of food is to allow for repeated exposure without pressure. 

There are lots of ways to do this but today I am going to focus on involving children in the kitchen with prep for snacks and/or meals. 

If you’re thinking, "no WAY! - Kids in the kitchen means mess, stress and general carnage",

I am here to reassure you that ‘small and often’ can be just as beneficial.

Let me give you an example.  

Imagine a little boy, Frank, is playing but comes to the kitchen to ask for a drink. Perhaps while he is there his dad is chopping peppers and asks if he’d like to help….. Frank isn’t keen on peppers ... yet ... but would love to have a go at chopping them. 

So his dad hands him the child safe scissors and a few large chunks of pepper. Frank cuts a few pieces, tosses them onto the plate and 2 mins later is happily playing with his books again. Mission accomplished! 

Frank has been exposed to a currently disliked food, without any pressure of having to eat it. His dad is feeling pleased and not in the slightest bit stressed. Win:Win

That being said, of course there are times when children might like to be involved in cooking something from start to finish, which does of course, present a huge learning opportunity and often a time for family connection. Thankfully, there are tons of great kids cookbooks on the market, some recommendations for which you will find on our RAE Instagram grid. 

In addition, you will find a series of (free) child-friendly recipes on my personal blog page including that for Rainbow Pizzas, Magic Colour Changing Noodles, Sushi Superhero Triangles and Chia Berry Jam.

I hope that helps with some ideas and inspiration for how to easily expose children to new foods without pressure. There are of course many other ways, which we will cover in future newsletters and through our socials.

As ever, please do send us any fussy eating questions that you would like us to answer. 

And remember that if you are ready to take action and be led through a series of comprehensive lessons to help you raise an adventurous eater, our 13 part, on-demand audio course is live and waiting for you.