The rise in fussy eating among children is linked to changes in the way we parent nowadays, Ciara Kelly has said.

It comes after new research revealed that six in ten parents in the US make separate dinners for their fussy eating children.

The University of Michigan study surveyed over 1,000 parents of children aged three to 10 years old and found that just one-in-eight still force children to empty their plate and less than one-in-three hold back dessert for those who don’t finish their dinner.

Dieticians are often split on the best approach to fussy eaters – with some saying you should offer children choice and others urging parents to make children eat whatever is in front of them.

Meanwhile, UK paediatric dietitian and nutritionist Lucy Upton has urged parents to let children eat dinner at breakfast time and breakfast at dinner time if that is what they want.

Fussy eaters

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Ciara Kelly said she knows all about how hard it can be to get your children to eat well – both from personal experience and from her time as a practicing GP.

“I do understand this and I think most parents listening to the radio understand this and I think that there are kids with specific issues and all kinds of things, but parking that, notwithstanding, the kids with significant food phobias and all kind of stuff, there is definitely some link between how we parent nowadays and how our kids are eating,” she said.

“Because, when I was small, I ate all the stuff that my parents would slap on the plate.

“The stews, the cabbage, you know, every type of pie and really, I baulked at tripe and that was about it – but literally everything else we just ate; there was no alternative.

“So part of me thinks offering your children more and more choice will result in your children becoming more and more fussy – but that's not much help for the parents that are struggling with this.”

Ciara said food has “become a running battle ground” for many families – and there are no easy answers.

“It’s very difficult but I do sort of think that giving kids too much power about their food will only reinforce the fussiness,” she said.

Balanced diet

The US study encourages parents to provide a balanced meal to their fussy eaters and encourage them to try, “at least a small amount of healthy foods that might not be their preference”.

It also notes that children learn through watching their parents – so it is important to ensure they see you eating well yourself.

Fellow presenter Shane Coleman urged parents to listen to the experts.

“I am wary of people saying, ‘Just do X’ or, ‘Just do Y’ because I'm not sure that washes,” he said.

“I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all and I think we need to be really careful with kids and the idea of sort of shoving full food down their throat.

“I don't think that's the solution and I don't think that's helpful and I think that can cause far more serious problems.

“So I would listen to the experts on this; I wouldn't listen to anybody else.”

He said comparisons with the children ate in previous generations are ‘invalid’ due to the huge changes in parenting in recent years.