{"id":10,"date":"2026-10-03T00:08:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T12:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-tinytots\/mealtimes-with-toddlers-calm-ways-to-handle-fussy-eating\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T00:08:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T00:08:03","slug":"mealtimes-with-toddlers-calm-ways-to-handle-fussy-eating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-tinytots\/mealtimes-with-toddlers-calm-ways-to-handle-fussy-eating\/","title":{"rendered":"Mealtimes with toddlers: calm ways to handle fussy eating"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many toddlers go through a phase of refusing foods they used to eat, or only wanting a few favourites. It can be worrying, but for most children it is a normal stage of growing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep it relaxed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Offer small portions and let your child ask for more.<\/li>\n\n<li>Eat together when you can. Children copy what they see adults eat.<\/li>\n\n<li>Avoid pressure, bribes or long battles. Calmly take the plate away after a reasonable time.<\/li>\n\n<li>Keep regular meal and snack times so your child comes to the table hungry, but not over-tired.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Try, try again<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Children often need to see and taste a new food many times before they accept it. Put a small amount of the new food next to something they already like, and praise them for trying, not for finishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Make food fun<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Let your child help wash vegetables or stir a mixture.<\/li>\n\n<li>Arrange food into simple faces or patterns.<\/li>\n\n<li>Offer finger foods your child can explore with their hands.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to ask for advice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Talk to your doctor or health visitor if you are worried about your child\u2019s growth or weight, if they eat a very small range of foods, or if eating seems to cause pain, choking or distress. Always tell your nursery about allergies and dietary needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fussy eating is a normal stage for many toddlers. Small portions, eating together and no pressure usually help more than battles at the table.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":24,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-tinytots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-tinytots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-tinytots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-tinytots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-tinytots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43,"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-tinytots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10\/revisions\/43"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-tinytots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-tinytots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-tinytots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/block.ltheme.com\/lt-tinytots\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}