Fussy Eating Strategies

What you will be able to do

• explain why fussy eating is common and tell everyday fussiness from signs that need a professional check.
• set up a steady rhythm of meals, snacks and drinks that helps your child come to the table hungry.
• serve meals with a safe food and a tiny learning portion, and build food bridges from foods your child already eats.
• use the new-food ladder and repeated exposure to help your child move from looking at a food to tasting it.
• use descriptive praise and calm scripts for refusals, without pressure, bribes or punishment.
• keep a consistent approach across home, creche, school and grandparents.
• track exposures, review progress after four weeks and know when to ask for help.

1. 1Understanding fussy eating

   Why so many children go through a fussy phase, how to tell everyday fussiness from a feeding problem, and the simple split of jobs that takes the fight out of mealtimes.

   • Why so many children are fussy eaters
   • Fussy eating or something more?
   • Your job and your child's job at the table

   Food exposure trackerMealtime rules cards

2. 2Setting up calm mealtimes

   Build a steady rhythm of meals and snacks, create a relaxed table, and spot the hidden forms of pressure that make fussy eating worse.

   • A steady rhythm of meals, snacks and drinks
   • A relaxed table: the set-up that helps
   • Spotting pressure, and what to do instead

   Mealtime rules cards7-day fussy eating plan

3. 3Serving food the smart way

   Child-sized portions, the 'safe plus learning food' plate, and food bridges that build from foods your child already accepts.

   • Child-sized portions and what a balanced day looks like
   • The safe food plus learning food plate
   • Food bridges: building out from what they already eat

   7-day fussy eating planNew-food ladder

4. 4Repeated exposure and the new-food ladder

   Why children need many calm tries before a food feels familiar, how to climb the new-food ladder one step at a time, and how to build exposure away from the table.

   • Why it can take 10 to 15 tries (or more)
   • Climbing the new-food ladder
   • Exposure away from the table

   New-food ladderFood exposure tracker7-day fussy eating plan

5. 5Words that help

   Praise that encourages trying, neutral ways to talk about food, and calm scripts for refusals and 'yuck' moments.

   • Praise that encourages trying
   • Neutral, curious food talk
   • Handling refusal, 'yuck' and mealtime meltdowns

   Praise phrases and helpful words

6. 6Real life and keeping it going

   Keep progress going at creche, school, with grandparents and on busy nights, then use a 7-day reset and a 4-week review to see how far you have come.

   • Creche, school, grandparents and eating out
   • Busy weeknights, siblings and budgets
   • Your 7-day reset and 4-week review

   Mealtime rules cards7-day fussy eating planFood exposure tracker

• TrackerFood exposure trackerLog every calm, pressure-free contact your child has with a new or less-liked food, so you can see progress that is easy to miss.
• BuilderNew-food ladderChoose one food, find the step your child is on now, and build a small, pressure-free plan for the next step.
• CardsMealtime rules cardsTen short, printable rules to keep mealtimes calm and consistent for everyone who feeds your child.
• ListPraise phrases and helpful wordsReady-to-use phrases that encourage trying, calm refusals and curious food talk, plus space to add your own.
• Planner7-day fussy eating planPlan a calm week of family meals and snacks, each with a safe food and a small learning food, plus one away-from-the-table activity.