Dealing with food refusal

Practical advice on expanding your child’s confidence around food

Many families worry when their child suddenly refuses favourite foods, avoids anything new or seems to eat only a small handful of familiar foods. However, food refusal is very common in young children and is often a typical part of development.

Research suggests that around one in three children will be described as a ‘picky eater’ at some point during their childhood. For many children, these behaviours improve naturally over time as their experience with food expands. For others, extra support may be needed.

Neophobia, which literally means ‘fear of the new’, often appears between 18 months and three years of age as children become more independent and curious about the world around them.

Sometimes adults think children refuse food simply because they do not like the taste of it, but eating uses all of the senses. The texture, smell, temperature, colour and appearance of food can all affect whether a child feels comfortable and safe to try a new food.

A child may refuse a casserole because it feels too wet, or fruit because it has a small bruise, or a yoghurt simply because the packaging looks different. They may even refuse a food they normally enjoy if it is touching something unfamiliar on their plate.

For some children, previous experiences such as reflux, allergies or choking incidents can also make eating feel more challenging. Children may begin to associate certain foods with discomfort and thus become more reluctant to try them.

Understanding food refusal can help families move away from blame and towards curiosity. Making small changes can often help reduce pressure and build confidence around food:

Avoid pressure. It’s natural to want to encourage children to eat, but too much pressure can increase anxiety and resistance.

Don’t be discouraged if a food is rejected repeatedly. Children often need many opportunities to see a new food before they feel comfortable trying it.

Offer small portions of new foods alongside familiar favourites.

Keep mealtimes calm, positive and predictable, and focus on enjoying time together rather than how much your child eats.

Remember that appetites naturally vary from day to day.

Celebrate any small steps your child makes, such as looking at, touching or smelling a new food.

Your role is to provide regular opportunities to eat a variety of foods. Your child’s role is to decide what they feel comfortable eating from what is offered. This approach helps children develop trust in their own hunger and fullness cues, helping them to develop a healthier association with food.

Eating is a complex skill and there can be many reasons why a child finds certain foods challenging. By providing choices and repeatedly offering different foods with no pressure to try, mealtimes can remain positive, predictable and pressure-free.

For a smaller number of children, feeding difficulties can be more persistent. If you are concerned about your child’s growth, nutritional intake or overall wellbeing, seek advice from your health visitor, GP or a feeding specialist.

Providers: did you know Ofsted evaluates how well settings engage with families to support children’s learning as part of the early years inspection framework?

Directing families to the Alliance’s free Family Corner website is a simple but effective way to showcase this engagement. The website supports families with access to expert-backed advice on everything from health and child development to fun activity inspiration.

Encourage your families to visit www.familycorner.co.uk