I'm not eating that... British children are the fussiest eaters in Europe, a new study reveals, but the real danger is their pickiness will continue into adult life. We investigate...
Byline: WORDS: JUDY COGAN so for a him or tune 43 per Expert Dr Rob HicksYou battled the supermarket trolleys, prepared the ingredients and lovingly cooked a delicious family meal and then hear: 'I don't like it!'
Most mums will know this heartbreaking moment well. Your loving, happy child spots food they don't fancy and turns anarchist.
Forget aeroplanes, trickery or pleading. Food isn't going into that infant's mouth.
British toddlers have been named the fussiest eaters in the continent in the first ever European Toddlers Nutrition Index. Over a quarter of our tots refuse meals at least once a day - compared to just 15 per cent in France and Germany.
And this is storing up problems for our little ones. The Sunday People's Dr Rob Hicks says: 'If a child is a fussy eater there's a risk of nutrient deficiency. There's also the risk a child will get too many sugary and fatty foods simply because they won't eat anything else. This puts them at greater risk of becoming overweight later in life.'
Mum-of-two Kirsten Hossack, 43, dreads mealtimes at home in Ascot, Berkshire, with husband Richard, 39, and their children Henry, four, and Noah, two. 'Noah refuses anything with meat in it and hates vegetables,' she says. 'He'll only eat bread, biscuits and potatoes. We joke he's our carbohydrate baby.'
Kirsten says it's a daily nightmare, adding: 'We can spend an hour and a half just sitting there - heating and re-heating his meal.
'Henry will get grouchy if his bedtime is delayed. Most nights my husband and I don't get any time to unwind. It puts a strain on everything.' Noah is allergic to eggs and certain nuts and was a fussy baby.
Kirsten reveals: 'When we were weaning him, he'd find little lumps of red meat, produce them on his tongue and spit them out.
'I put effort into cooking colourful and healthy food to have him spit it out and say 'I want bread!'' Kirsten and Richard have tried everything. She explains: 'We've done 'dinner sandwiches' where we hide his meal between two slices of bread. But he'll just peel the buttered bread off and eat that.
'We even tried renaming food to something he did eat so we had 'ham biscuits' for a while. We'd high five him after every mouthful, or sing a little 'Go Noah' tune like cheerleaders.'
The study found 43 per cent of mums give in and let their children eat what they want to save time and effort.
Kirsten confesses: 'Noah had a clicky hip and chronic eczema when he was born. He was smaller than Henry. I guess we were more gentle with him. I'd let him get away with things like refusing food.'
More than half of UK mothers say they are 'frustrated' by their children's eating habits.
'It's soul destroying,' says Kirsten. 'Noah is such a happy, gentle boy. But his stubborn mood spreads across the whole table,' she says. 'Richard gets upset because I'm upset.
Then Henry will join in.
It can be awful!' Kirsten asked her GP for advice. 'We were worried Noah was losing weight. But everything he suggested we were doing - we sit down as a family with no TV,' she says.
Kirsten is not alone - 12 per cent of mums said meal time struggles make them feel like a 'bad mother'.
And one in three parents bribe their fussy eaters with sweets, a separate study of 2,002 British mums of children between 12 months and five years by Vitabiotics Wellkid Baby Drops found.
And, disturbingly, 60 per cent admitted their little one regularly craved sweets by the age of three.
Children's food expert Annabel Karmel believes UK mums have a hard time.
She says: 'We work longer hours than anyone else in Europe and, as a consequence, parents feel quite guilty about not spending enough time with their children, and so often just give children whatever they want to eat just so they're happy.'
Children are also taking in a third of their daily sugar allowance from fizzy drinks according to the NHS.
Paul Lindley, founder of babyfood brand Ella's Kitchen, has launched the Averting A Recipe For Disaster campaign - calling for a long-term plan to improve childhood nutrition in the under-fives. 'This focus on improving nutrition for children in their earliest years is absolutely vital. The babies of today are the parents of tomorrow and we have a small window of opportunity to shape their food preferences and habits - that opportunity must be taken now,' he says.
Mark Northeast, 39, from Littlehampton, West Sussex, says the key is to make food fun. He had trouble getting his son Oscar, now eight, interested in food. After transforming his sandwich into a spaceship
FunkyLunch.com was born. Mark says: 'I found that by engaging children with food, they had more interest in it. Get children hands on with food, let them feel part of the creation process and they will become comfortable with the ingredients on their plate.' For Kirsten it's an ongoing battle.
'I'm just hanging on in there,' She says. 'Now I give Noah liquid vitamins. He loves them and it makes me feel better. I just want him to be a well rounded adult, with a healthy attitude to food.' Pickiness as a child can lead to Selective Eating Disorder (SED).
Dr Rob Hicks says: 'Patterns of eating often persist into adulthood leaving a person at continued risk of nutrient deficiency and long-term health problems such as obesity and heart disease.
'A limited diet may also affect a person's relationship, work, or social life if their eating likes and dislikes mean they can't take part in events.'
This is exactly what has happened to Emily Richmond, 24, of Clapham, south London. She has been picky about her food since childhood. 'My friends know I'm fussy, but eating out is stressful. Everyone will be ready to order, but I can't see anything on the menu I can eat. I go red and feel so embarrassed. I've cried in restaurants before,' she confesses.
Until Emily was 16 her diet consisted of chicken with pasta in a cream sauce. 'I didn't eat fruit or veg until age 17 and I still don't eat fruit.' Emily's eating habits have affected her relationships.
'It was the only thing me and my ex boyfriend argued about. I'd refuse to eat what he cooked me and it drove him mad. I would panic and not really explain why so he didn't understand.
'I made a list of allowed foods for him, but he thought I needed help. He was totally right, it's very odd.' Self-confessed fussy eater Samantha Downes, 42, lives in Stansted, Essex, with husband Andrew, 42, and daughter Imogen, four. She says: 'I don't eat meat, I hate the texture. Anything remotely chewy makes me feel ill, so does anything with an earthy aftertaste - I won't eat new potatoes. I don't like foods that feel mucusy like cheese and cream.
'I can't eat most fruit, particularly apricots. I hate pastry and sponge too. I'll eat salmon and cod but no other fish. I vomited once when my husband cooked sausages and had to put Vicks under my nose to go into the kitchen.'
Samantha worries it's rubbing off on Imogen. 'My daughter is eating more of the stuff I eat and less other foods she liked before,' she says. 'All she can see is that mummy doesn't eat meat and fruit. I told her I'm a vegetarian but she's too young to understand. So I invite friends round so she can eat with other youngsters.'
Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston says it's important to set a positive example: 'Eat the foods you want your child to eat at shared meal times. Avoid showing your child you are concerned about foods and make positive comments about food you like.'
What do you think @takeiteasymag#tiefussyeaters
USEFUL WEBSITES optimumnutritionists.com Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston funkylunch.com parentsforhealth.org supernanny.co.uk For lots of recipes to help mums, download Annabel's Essential Guide to Feeding your Baby and Toddler available on iTunes and Google Play for PS3.99 or see: annabelkarmel.com
Nutritionist Yvonne's tips
1 Have set routines for eating so children sit and eat at the table.
2 Avoid forcing children to finish their plate as this can lead to life-long overeating. And avoid giving your child unhealthy foods in place of the meal they refused.
3 Try to get your child to touch, smell and taste new foods by involving them in the shopping and preparation of meals.
'He'll only eat bread, biscuits and potatoes. We spend an hour and half heating and reheating his meals'
CAPTION(S):
Kirsten is frustrated by Noah's pickiness
Mark got Oscar to eat his food by creating intersting shapes
Samantha has concerns Emily lost boyfriend
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| Title Annotation: | Features |
|---|---|
| Publication: | The People (London, England) |
| Date: | Mar 3, 2013 |
| Words: | 1475 |
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