As a family of five, we are all very different, this isnt anything new for many families but for us food out or at home can be very challenging as some of us are Fussy Eaters. For me, I have to ultimately change what I want to ensure everyone else is ok as we all have issues. 

Growing up

I grew up a slightly Fussy Eater, for years I would have sausages, or a mini roast, shepherds pie, chips but nothing else. But as I got older my taste buds changed like many, I lived with two chefs so had a variety of meals made as my taste buds got better. As an adult I will generally try most things, I’m not a lover of fruit, though I like juices. Salad, in general, I don’t mind, I like specific ones over others like a rocket for example. (odd I know). 

Boo is very much a “plain jane” for years she eats what she likes and that’s it, no strong flavours, no spice, no exotic dishes. To be honest, since we have been together she has got much better, the opportunity for her to try lots of stuff as an adult become more apparent as we went out for meals and I tried to get her to try stuff. But even now as I said she likes what she likes, very simple, but she does like some fruit and veg on the plus side, more so than me. 

Roo

Roo started very well as baby, had milk, tried lots of food including all sorts of flavours and including bananas(which she now doesn’t like), but she had a spell where she became very similar to Boo in here early days, in what she would eat, very basic and bland flavours. However she seems to be the other side of this now as she has begun to try other flavours, she will often try what I’m having.

She isn’t there yet as she still likes her basics, like chicken, fish fingers, sausages, chips mash gravy… But will eat the odd bit of fruit and we’ll as some veg, we can still be a little limited with her but she is much better recently. 

Tigger

Tigger… Well, he is our main fussy Eater, when he was really little he had his milk, even then we found it difficult for him to eat anything else. He made small steps towards food but then got chickenpox when he was young, this completely wiped him out, it set off a terrible couple of years that in our minds really set him back with his health and habits, As he got older we continued to try him on a variety of food but he would not have it, almost gagging at times.

This would be a common occurrence as he got older. He began to have foods similar to Roo, with chicken nuggets, chips, sausage rolls (small ones not heavy in flavouring) crisps, and a few other little things. He would have a banana which was great, over those years we managed to convince him to have variations of what he had, so different shape chicken nuggets, teaching him they were the same but just in a different Shape, the same with chips, this was a struggle to just simply teach him that food came in different sizes and shapes.

We also tried different brands of food he liked, like sausage rolls, or his apple and blackcurrant squash, which had limited success, however, we did manage to get him to have fish fingers (though be would choose not to) and recently sausages, both battered and non. I can’t tell you how it feels when you managed to jump that type of hurdle. For some, it’s not a big deal but when we get him to have something new and he likes it, it really is a great moment.

Many of his foods are beige, like custard creams and the above, he weirdly likes small gingerbread men (again not too strong), but in general, many of his foods are that colour, something that Boo has looked into in the past. In reality, he is a fussy Eater we know this, we have tried techniques, different foods, and at this point, I take a win for everything he tries. I hope he will be more like me as he gets older, and his taste buds develop to Try more things, it sad he doesn’t have what we have all of the time. 

His drinks it was also a struggle, all the kids have their favourites, and we have raised those kids to not really have Fizzy. so we would all have a selection of squash in the house, but with Tigger, he had the Robinson’s Apple and Blackcurrant. We had to give him this, he would notice the difference, and for such a long time we could try a different brand or just simply water.

We even resorted to buying the Squashed Robinson Capsules that allows you to travel and add them to water when needed. We had to ensure it wasn’t too strong, but fortunately, he has relaxed and now tried different brands, its still a battle with which ones, Aldi, and Robinson’s are good, but Tesco which you would think would be fine, is not. He can taste that there is a difference.

When he was younger the type of cup also mattered, he had a Munchkin branded cup and it always had to come in it, it took such a long time and a battle to convince him that it would be the same in another cup/bottle, much like the brands of Apple and Blackcurrant Squash, but even though we have moved on with cups and bottles, he still has to have that squash even now.

Piglet

Piglet eats anything! A typical 4-year-old with trying stuff and she will eat anything on any given day, some days we don’t like something… Obviously, other days we like anything, she had weird days in that she will eat loads one day but can also go through most of the day not really fussed about eating. Generally, she will try anything I have, and hopefully will continue this, there no fear in food for her, hot-cold, spicy or plain. Whatever it is she will generally eat it.

She obviously has a favourite like most people, ice cream, Chocolate, crisps, but on the flip really likes meat over carb-based stuff. She would happily eat fruit if you let her all of the time. 

Every Family Struggles

Every family has struggled with food in some fashion, some are alot of worse but some are easier, and there’s no right way of doing any of it, but these are our struggles. we regularly have to plan and plot what we doing, especially for Tigger, we’ve tried to be good parents in setting examples like no fizzy for any of them, they have fruit every day (even Tigger likes gala apples, but not other apples).

There’s a big part of me that feels guilty and letting them down, and wish I could help Tigger especially, but in our lives, we are coping with what we can do at mealtimes. Often Tigger is having something different to us, he doesn’t grumble or moan, he gets on with it, he might be fussy but he’s a good boy.