Top 5 tips for fussy eaters from ‘French Kids Eat Everything’ by Karen Le Billon
‘French Kids Eat Everything‘ is out in Hong Kong bookstores now, but what’s the deal? Without giving away all the secrets, here’s the main points that Karen swears by to get your child over the fussy eating phase, plus one top tip of our own!
1. Don’t call your child a fussy eater. Karen believes the french philosophy of ‘learning to eat’ can be taught to any child. A good rule is to ask them to try a food they didn’t like before if more than 10 days has passed. You’ll be surprised what is accepted the second time around.
2. Ask children to taste everything but don’t force them to eat it. Scientific research shows that children taste a new food around 8 times before they like it. That’s ‘TASTE’ meaning, it has to go in their mouths! Sometimes sitting them with friends who are eating new foods encourages them to copy and try new things.
Explore new foods by going to the market together and letting kids shop
3. Children respond better to foods they know. When a child says “I don’t like that food”, they often mean “I don’t know it.” By shopping with them, showing them the food and letting them help you or your helper in the kitchen, they build knowledge and will be more open to trying new things.
Colourful kitchen items – let your child choose their plate and cutlery – get them involved!
4. Emphasis that it tastes good (not that’s it’s high in fibre). Seems us adults are obsessed with healthy food, but try presenting the benefits of a food in terms of enjoyment to your kids. “Yummmmm” is much more enticing than “it’s soooo good for you!”
5. Stick with a schedule (and limit snacks to one–or at most two–per day). French children have three meals a day, and one snack breakfast, lunch, goûter (late-afternoon snack) and dinner. Unlike many Hong Kong schools kids don’t snack in the day, and they sit together with the family to eat in the evening. Try and sit down with your child at mealtimes (and not just in the same room). They play up more if they are competing for your attention. Cut the snacks and a hungrier child makes for a more curious child.
Our own tip– Make the dinner table fun! Ask your child to help prepare their table setting, from choosing their own plates and bowls to cutlery. Let them experiment with eating in different ways (fingers, chopsticks, spoons). We love the Rice DK range because it’s bright and engaging and our own kids love to mix and match their utensils and cutlery. Check out our Kitchenware section in our petit bazaar boutique for more cute and and fun meal time accessories.. the french way.
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!