It’s a familiar scene - you spend all morning creating a delicious nutritious kids plate full of goodness, only to get a big fat ‘no’. Mealtime struggles are familiar with parents everywhere. Some kids are picky eaters, some are fussy eaters, others are easily distracted, and sometimes it’s just about control.

Here’s the science…
However, recent research from Science Daily suggests that most children go through picky eating phases, in particular those who have more “inhibited personalities”.

The fascinating study drew links between infants who were less welcoming of new foods and those wary of new toys. It concluded that food attitudes stem from personality types.

What's more, it seems to start from an early age as anyone will a fussy eater will vouch for. Researchers suggest attitudes to new food and new toys is evident from as young as 12 months old.

Don’t give up!
As disheartening as it is, advice from the professionals is not to give up.

Kameron Moding, a postdoctoral fellow at University of Colorado Denver, who conducted the research, said in the article: “Research from other labs has consistently shown that infants and children can learn to accept new foods if their caregivers continue to offer them."

“It can take as many as eight to ten tries, but infants and children can learn to accept and eat even initially disliked foods."

Food plus fun
If you struggle with toddler mealtimes, or just want to inject some fun to the dinner table, then why not check out the Munchy Play range which helps bring imagantive play to mealtimes.