Feeding tips for troublesome tots

Keep trying!

Young children often need to be presented with new foods on upwards of 15 seperate occasions before they will even try them. Be persistent, but do not try to force the issue!

Dont force it

If mealtime becomes a battle -  you’ve already lost. If your child doesn’t want to eat something, or spits it out, trying to force it into their mouth is going to turn mealtime into a negative experience. Offer foods a couple of times, but be patient. If they dont want to try a new food today, maybe they will tommorrow.

Share the food

If your toddler is wary of new foods, then show them that its good by eating some yourself! Often this will encouarge them to copy you and discover a great new flavour.

Hide the veg!

Sauces, stews and food with multiple ingredients are a great way to sneak a few extra veg onto the plate (and more importantly, into the stomach) without too much fight from your child. When babies are weening, pureed veg tend to go down very well, but as they get a bit older it can be tricky to get them to eat their greens. Toddlers love our ’sneaky’ potato cakes, with all sorts of veg in - see the recipe section for more ideas.

No squash before meals

Toddlers tend to fill up on drinks and not eat if its given to close to meal times - let them have a little water to drink before meals are served, but try not to let you child fill up.

High Chair and Feeding Chair buying guide

There are several things you need to consider when buying a new high chair. Our simple guide can help you make sense of some of the options available to you.

The Price

Obviously price is a factor. Get the best you can afford, but don’t get to hung up on brand names.

Ease of Cleaning

When the chair is clean and brand new in the shop, its easy to overlook the fact that you may have to clean all sorts of sticky foods and drinks off it on a daily basis. Look for wipe clean surfaces and not to many nooks and crannies for all those bits to get lodged in to.

Portability

How often do you need to take to the friends or the inlaws? is it worh considering a booster seat, or a collapsible model, as well as a home seat?

Build Quality

The high chair or feeding chair will need to be solid, stable and childproof for at least a couple of years - and a toddler can do some serious damage with plates and cutlery!. Get a good solid model that can withstand all your child will throw at it.