FACT – Worryingly, more than 25% of children in England are overweight

Coping with a fussy eater

Anyone with children will know that when it comes to eating, fuss is often high on the menu. It’s not surprising then that we can lose heart when our children turn their noses up at anything with green bits or visible onions. But rest assured, you are not alone. In fact, 90% of children go through at least one lengthy stage of being fussy.

With the worrying trend of childhood obesity, we need to give children more home-cooked and fresh foods. Try and make mealtimes a really positive experience. One of the most important things is to try and hide your frustration. Praise your child excessively when he eats well or tries something new. You may need to ignore some bad eating behaviour to refocus attention on good behaviour.

Eating with the whole family whenever possible can really make a difference. Personally, I think that taking the focus off your child’s eating and having lots of social chat at the table is helpful.

Try my imaginative recipes for a growing child - you too can produce meals that are healthy and appealing.

Next - Wave Goodbye to fuss with my top tips

Promotion: Eat Fussy - Healthy Ready Meals for Children (from 12 months onwards)

www.annabelkarmel.com

As a parent, we all start off with the best of intentions - you want your child to have a healthy diet everyday. But with our busy & hectic lifestyles, this is often difficult. Help is at hand with my Eat Fussy range - nutritious & tasty chilled ready meals for children from 12 months on. Give your child the next best thing to home cooking - they taste so delicious, you’ll want to eat them yourself! Available from Sainsburys, Budgens & Ocado.com