Not letting your child on a phone or tablet before dinner can reduce fussy eating, according to a weaning expert. 

Mummy Cooks Founder Siobhan Berry said parents can take measures to ensure their children won’t turn their noses up when they get to the dinner table. 

“No screentime before a meal, about half an hour or an hour, if possible,” she told The Pat Kenny Show. 

“If they're out and about [outside], they're going to be running around, they're going to be hungry.” 

On the other hand, a bit of screentime during dinner can also prevent fussy eating. 

“They're not anxious,” she said. “They're not in a situation where you're forcing them or are putting attention on them to eat it.” 

Control

Ms Berry also said parents should “have the argument” about what’s for dinner in the kitchen rather than at the dining table. 

“Have that discussion, and maybe give them some control,” she said. “Say ‘we have broccoli, we have corn, and we have peas, and I’d you to choose two’. 

“That way they feel in control.” 

Bowl of mixed vegetables. Image: foodfolio / Alamy Stock Photo

Ms Berry said fussy eating typically begins around 15 months, and it’s “completely normal” - but parents should not give into it. 

“Parents, in the fear they won’t eat anything, offer alternatives and when they give in, they give in straight away,” she said. 

“It’s almost like, ‘Well he loves the Bolognese, so I’ll just take out the Bolognese and give it to him’ instead of the of the meal that you had prepared. 

“What happens there is the child becomes more familiar with that food and less familiar with any new food and then will only eat that food.” 

Food anxiety

Children can have a “heightened anxiety” when it comes to trying new foods – and that anxiety only makes them less hungry. 

“We need to lower that anxiety,” she said. 

Letting a child “play” with their food can make them less anxious about trying new things. 

“If you touch and you feel and you smell a food, you're much less anxious again, and you're more likely to eat it,” she said. 

“They might not eat it straightaway, but in time they will become less fearful of the food and eat it. 

“When you see a small baby and they’re being wiped all the time, that’s negative.” 

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