Fruit juices have been getting some bad press lately….and I think it’s about time. I am not an advocate of drinking fruit juices regularly, and certainly discourage parents from giving their children juice on a daily basis – no matter how fresh/pure/expensive it is.

Research by a group at the University of Bangor has shown how drinking fruit juice regularly enhances a subconscious liking for sweet tastes and leads to a cycle of sweet food and drink consumption – a big risk for obesity, dental decay, and for children; refusal to eat ‘main’ meals and savoury foods. Whether fruit juice is 100% and no added sugar is irrevelant; both are loaded with sugar and calories. Think about how many pieces of fruit are needed to make a glass of juice – many more than you’d be capable of eating alone. Once the fibre is discarded from the fruit (when squeezed), the ability to feel full is lost and we can drink litres of juice (and it’s sugar, fructose) without feeling full.

The Bangor University study has called for juice to be excluded from the 5-a-day portions, and I agree. Have a look at my table below to decide for yourself.

What to drink instead? Water! Milk! Let children get used to plain tastes and that’s all they’ll ask for. Juices and sweet drinks can be kept for special occasions only.

Millions of adults take vitamins and nutritional supplements in the hope of achieving better health, fewer diseases and to defy the ageing process. In 2009, £674.6 million worth of nutritional supplements were sold in the UK. But are they really worth it and should we be giving our children nutritional supplements too?

A new report by Behind the Headlines, an NHS service that investigates health claims, tells us that despite the wide availability of vitamins, minerals and dietary supplements such as fish oils, we should buy and take them with caution; and particular caution is needed when giving them to children.

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I would guess that the food group that evokes the most anxiety amongst parents are vegetables. Just why vegetables are the perennial problem, it’s hard to know; possibly because parents see vegetables as super-nutritious, or because parents themselves don’t like them but wish their children would.

We are all born with a preference for sweet foods, but this aside, children will approach all new foods pretty much the same. Including vegetables.

So how do we get children to eat and enjoy their veg? Forcing your child to eat something they’re already slightly wary of will only increase their distrust of the food. Forget waging a war with them over finishing their vegetables. Patience is needed, along with regular exposure to vegetables to develop a sense of familiarity. We could also take some guidance from a new piece of research published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in February this year; 434 parents of children aged 2-5 were interviewed, and one of the major factors predicting whether a child liked vegetables was whether or not their parent ate vegetables.

If you’re worried about your child not eating vegetables, perhaps it’s time you ate them yourself?

An exciting new class is about to start in Altrincham, Cheshire called ‘Happy Little Eaters’.

Aimed at children aged between 18 months and 4 years, ‘Happy Little Eaters’ has been developed my myself and a specialist Speech and Language Therapist, Joanne Jones. As health professionals, we have spent many years working with children who are fussy or reluctant eaters, and we also know how to promote a positive approach to food from the beginning.

‘Happy Little Eaters’ are fun activity sessions for parents and toddlers that will introduce your child to new and exciting food experiences, and ultimately aims to create a happy, healthy approach to eating. Learn how to avoid battles at the meal table and help your child embrace healthy eating! Too good to be true? Come and try out the first session for free! Details are found on the following link: www.happylittleeaters.co.uk

I’m often asked about the best brand of feeder cups for toddlers who are almost finished with their baby bottles. My answer is always the same: the best drinking vessels for children over the age of one are open, non-lidded cups - yes, just the same shape as the ones you use!

Baby bottles and also dummies (or pacifiers) should really be discarded by the time your child is 12 months of age. This may sound like an impossible feat to achieve but a great deal of evidence suggests this is the right thing to do. With a bit of practice a child can get the hang of open cups – I have seen whole nursery classes of one year olds take just a few weeks to get used to the change.

5 reasons to throw out the bottles and dummies when your child is one….

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From the moment weaning begins, it is important that your child starts to nurture a life-long positive approach to food, mealtimes and eating. Meals should be happy from the start! Follow my top tips for happy eaters and both you and your child can have stress free, happy meals together.

1. Let your child have the control over what goes into their mouth: try giving them their own spoon or offer some finger foods, allow them to see the food they’re about to eat (don’t hide it in a bowl out of their reach), and allow your child to expore the food by touching it before they eat it. If spoon-feeding, avoid pushing the spoon to the back of their mouths – place the spoon near their lips and let them choose to take it off the spoon themselves.
2. Include a variety of foods in your child’s diet and don’t ignore previously refused foods: it can take 15-20 exposures of one food before a child learns to like the taste.
3. Never force your child to eat anything: this includes persuading them to eat beyond their appetite. Don’t worry about having a clean plate – it is much better that your child learns to understand their own feelings of hunger and fullness. Don’t panic if they haven’t eaten much that day – forcing them to eat will not make anything better in the long term.
4. Role model good eating: children love to mimic and if they see you eating (and enjoying) your vegetables they are likely to copy.
5. Mess is good! Messy meal times are happy meal times. Allow your chld to explore food with all their senses and stop yourself from wiping them clean before the meal is finished. If children are not given the opportunity to immerse themselves in the pleasure of exploring food before they eat it, they often end up disinterested in food and reluctant to eat.

Finally, expect that your child will go through a phase of fussy eating. It is a normal developmental milestone, but if appropriately managed will usually resolve. If you are worried about prolonged fussy eating, nutrient intake or extreme food refusal it is a good idea to get in touch with a paediatric dietitian to help you nip the problem in the bud before it gets out of hand.