When I recently had problems with my child picking at his dinner and repeatedly refusing to eat; I sought advice from a combination of health professionals, friends and internet research. The result was a few simple realisations that turned the situation around for us.

CHILDREN WILL EAT WHEN THEY'RE HUNGRY

It sounds obvious but it's easy to forget when you're worried. If a child isn't very hungry, perhaps because they've had too many snacks or ate a lot at their last meal, they won't eat their dinner no matter how you try to coax them to. Turning the issue into an argument will just lead to repeat refusals for the sake of provoking a reaction. If a child doesn't want to eat their dinner it's best to simply say "okay, I'll take it away if you're not hungry" and leave it at that.

As infuriating as it is to waste a meal you've spend twenty minutes preparing; you can't force a child to eat when they're not hungry. If the meal will keep, pop it in the fridge and serve it up at the next meal time to minimise waste. Children, particularly young ones, will purposely push a parent's buttons for the sake of getting a reaction where allowed to turn situations into arguments or games. Stay calm and don't let a drama turn into a crisis.

BE REALISTIC

A toddler or young child that is still drinking a large beaker of milk every morning and night will need far fewer calories from their food than a child that doesn't. Between the ages of 2 and 5 years old, a child only needs to consume between 1000 and 1600 calories a day on average. A child drinking 300mls of whole milk twice a day may therefore need as little as 600 calories from their meals. Children over five years of age need around 1800 calories a day but will still get some of their intake from milk and fruit juices.

If a child isn't a big eater then don't overwhelm them with portions larger than their tiny stomach can handle. Try to dish out portion sizes in relation to the size of a child's stomach; if your portion of dinner is about the size of your stomach then your child's needs to be scaled down accordingly. Thinking of portion sizes in this manner may lead you to realise that you've been giving your child slightly more than really they can eat.

DON'T INTIMIDATE OR DISTRACT YOUR CHILD

If you sit at the table watching a child like a hawk then naturally they're going to feel too uncomfortable to eat. Eating should be an enjoyable experience that the whole family partake in

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