Five lockdown lessons for helping fussy eating youngsters (VIDEO)
The coronavirus lockdown is forcing new challenges upon families, as well as reinforcing old ones, but encouraging children to eat an array of foods does not have to be one of them.
The lockdown has brought new challenges for families across the globe
To help combat food fussiness, and support children to eat a range of foods, Loughborough University has put together five simple tips with easy to follow advice from child psychologist, Dr Emma Haycraft.
Underpinning the guidance is the notion that youngsters need to be familiar with food before the 'accept it'.
Becoming familiar with food can take a number of forms.
Dr Haycraft said: “Fussy eating is really common in many young children and lockdown gives us a great opportunity to work with children to increase their familiarity with a wide variety of foods.
“We know from research evidence that children often need to be quite familiar with food before they like it - before they will accept it and eat it.
“So, there are a couple of different activities which parents and caregivers can try during this unexpected period of lockdown which can help to reduce children’s fussiness and hopefully, therefore, increase the number of foods children are willing to eat.”
Image: GETTY
Here are the five simple steps:
Use the lockdown as an opportunity to eat together – watching other people eat helps to make children more familiar with foods
Avoid pressuring children to eat - keep mealtime relaxed and fun, don't force them to eat what they don't want to
Involve children in preparing and cooking meals – this helps increase food familiarity
Let children be involved in decisions about meals – this gives them a sense of control over their food intake
Make food fun - try food-related activities outside mealtimes to boost children’s exposure to new foods
Loughborough University is equipped with a live in-house broadcast unit via the Globelynx network. To arrange an interview with one of our experts please contact the press office on 01509 223491. Bookings can be made online via www.globelynx.com
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2019 QS World University Rankings, University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019 and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.
Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2020, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 and 8th in The UK Complete University Guide 2020.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
The coronavirus lockdown is forcing new challenges upon families, as well as reinforcing old ones, but encouraging children to eat an array of foods does not have to be one of them.
The lockdown has brought new challenges for families across the globe
To help combat food fussiness, and support children to eat a range of foods, Loughborough University has put together five simple tips with easy to follow advice from child psychologist, Dr Emma Haycraft.
Underpinning the guidance is the notion that youngsters need to be familiar with food before the 'accept it'.
Becoming familiar with food can take a number of forms.
Dr Haycraft said: “Fussy eating is really common in many young children and lockdown gives us a great opportunity to work with children to increase their familiarity with a wide variety of foods.
“We know from research evidence that children often need to be quite familiar with food before they like it - before they will accept it and eat it.
“So, there are a couple of different activities which parents and caregivers can try during this unexpected period of lockdown which can help to reduce children’s fussiness and hopefully, therefore, increase the number of foods children are willing to eat.”
Image: GETTY
Here are the five simple steps:
Use the lockdown as an opportunity to eat together – watching other people eat helps to make children more familiar with foods
Avoid pressuring children to eat - keep mealtime relaxed and fun, don't force them to eat what they don't want to
Involve children in preparing and cooking meals – this helps increase food familiarity
Let children be involved in decisions about meals – this gives them a sense of control over their food intake
Make food fun - try food-related activities outside mealtimes to boost children’s exposure to new foods
Loughborough University is equipped with a live in-house broadcast unit via the Globelynx network. To arrange an interview with one of our experts please contact the press office on 01509 223491. Bookings can be made online via www.globelynx.com
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2019 QS World University Rankings, University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019 and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.
Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2020, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 and 8th in The UK Complete University Guide 2020.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
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Image: GETTY
