How to get your child to eat more variety... by giving them pudding first.

Nutrition isn't as easy as a list of vegetables, some oily fish or a supplement. It requires change.

We all know that change isn't easy.

Most parents that I work with struggle to imagine their child changing. "She won't give up her chicken nuggets", they say. "She only eats crunchy foods and anything else just doesn't work", he says. "They refuse to try anything new!" My response is always the same. We can only control our own actions and reactions. So let's take a look at something that is often forgotten by parents... mindset.

You know you want your child to eat more healthy food. You wish they ate whatever you put in front of them.

So how can you change your own mindset to help them get there?

Here's a nutritionist tip.... you control what you put on the table and when your children eat. They control what they eat and how much.

Woah. Mindset moment.

If you haven't heard of this before, this way of feeding your family can be a tricky adjustment. I have been told by many parents that it just feels wrong. So let's first dive into what to do, then chat about how it feels.

1. Prepare a meal and place it on the table in separate dishes with serving spoons. Try to separate food. For example, serve rice in one bowl, a vegetables on a serving plate and some chicken on another... split up the meals so that each item is by itself. (Sorry, you're right... this means more washing up!)

2. Call everyone to the table, with no exceptions. A five minute warning can help here.

3. You children choose what they put on their plate. They also choose how much food they eat.

To take this method a step further I suggest:

4. Add food that you would like your child to try. This may mean adding a small bowl of pumpkin seeds to the table, a sliced hard boiled egg, a plate of steamed broccoli. The trick here is not to worry about whether it 'goes' with the meal you have prepared.

5. Consider adding pudding to the table. This means adding a small amount of the 'treat' food that is usually given after meals, and putting it right in with the dinner. (Yes, it may be eaten first)

6. When the meal is over, clear the main dishes but leave the 'extra' items on the table. When you child says they are hungry or 'wants something else', let them go back to the table and help themselves to any of the dishes still there.

So why does this feel so wrong? It's not just you... I hear this often.

This new method is NOT what we're used to. And that can feel wrong. What I challenge you to do is sit with this feeling for a minute and try to see if it feels wrong because it means giving up control.

We are so used to holding on to control of our kids. Holding their hand when they cross the street, cutting their food so they don't choke, managing screen time, making sure they are doing their homework... no matter their age it really never stops.

Giving your child control over how much they are eating can feel.... like we are losing control. And the way we react to losing control is by rejecting the idea. Saying it couldn't work, it isn't right for me, my child would never do it, it would mean too much work.

What is interesting is this is exactly the reason I think you should give it a try. Because our kids react to lack on control in the same way. Put a plate of food in front of them. Make it something they've never tried before. Then tell them to eat it.

What happens? They reject the idea. "It smells bad!" "It looks yukky!" "You can't make me eat that!" Or the worst one after an hour in the kitchen... "That looks like poo!"

Is any of this true? Probably not. They are reacting to a lack on control, just like we do.

If we truly want our kids to change, we have to change too.

Let's be honest. Many of us come from the 'finish your plate' era, most of us believe that our kids will live on ice cream if allowed, and almost all of us are exhausted by the dinnertime struggle.

We can't make our kids change. We know that. If we could then parenting would be oh so easy, right? But we can change our own mindset, and give our children the space to change themselves.

So give it a try. See what happens when your kids can choose.

Give them the time to make this work. It may mean that puddings come first for a while, that they feel muddled and don't eat enough at first, or that trying something new still takes time. But I've seen this many times. Giving your children control of their own eating will lead to more exploration, greater acceptance of food, and calmer mealtimes.

Did you know my group program teaches you strategies to guide your child to accept the food their brain is craving? Find out more!