Have a fussy eater? You are not alone!

I recently conducted a survey to find out which fruit and vegetables are least popular among our children. The children the collected information represents range in age from 1-11 years.

I asked the question – do you have at least one fussy eater in the house and collected the following result:

Can you guess which colours represent yes and no? That’s right the blue is yes.

So you are not alone! Maybe you can connect with the following findings?

60% of children dislike cabbage

50% of children dislike mushrooms

50% of children dislike tomatoes

One common denominator of tomatoes and mushrooms is texture which may contribute to the disfavour. Cabbage is a strong vegetable and can often need some additional seasoning to make it more appealing.

My approach with fussy eaters is always one of encouragement, trying everything once. It should also be OK to say “I don’t like it”. I like when children experience the feeling of utter and sheer success for trying something once even though they were hesitant to begin. A child should never feel they are in a situation of fear where food is related.

Recently, I made a sauce with my daughter. We marinated our chicken with it and served with alphabet shaped pasta (the adults had basmati rice). My daughter is among the 50% of children who dislike tomatoes. She cannot stand the texture. She tries so hard but her scrunched up face says it all! So we decided to try eating them in a different way.