Travelling with fussy eaters: How to make foreign food fun

Many toddlers and young children want to eat the same food every day. Their parents exert themselves to try to build a healthy, well-balanced diet around these favourite foods. Come summer, the parents of picky eaters have to face an extra challenge: feeding their kids foreign food. These tips will help you deal with difficult eaters during your all-inclusive holiday.

1. Prepare your child’s taste buds for the journey

Unfortunately, it can take up to fifteen exposures to a new taste before kids will start liking it. You can use this knowledge to your advantage by introducing some elements of the local cuisine of your destination into your own kitchen a couple of weeks before going on a holiday. For example, you could prepare octopus for yourself and offer your children a small bite of the ‘food for grown-ups’ in exchange for one of their fish fingers.

2. Force-feeding is not the way

By forcing children to eat something they don’t like, you will only make them despise the food more. You can try to entice them into trying something new and you can be strict about eating enough vegetables, but  you should avoid making food a serious item of contention between you and your child.

3. Don’t insist they clean their plate

When eating out, you have to leave some rules at home because in restaurants and hotels, servings are often too big for children. If you don’t want them to make a habit of eating until they burst, don’t force your children to finish everything on their plate. Sometimes, kids don’t want to try what’s on their plate at all because of the way it looks. In that case, be patient and remember that foreign restaurant food does indeed look very different from what they are used to. Convince them that they don’t have to eat a lot of it if they really don’t like it, but that they have to at least give it a try.

4. Ask for a doggy bag

Ask the waiter for a doggy bag if your children just pick at their food during dinner time. Chances are your little ones will get hungry as soon as you leave the restaurant or hotel. The best way to discourage this behaviour is to offer them the same food they had in the restaurant instead of buying them a snack.

5. Make eating into a game

If you don’t want to fight over food while you’re abroad, you’re going to have to make your kids enjoy the whole process of dressing up, going to the restaurant or dining room of the hotel and choosing something from the menu. Throw in a bit of roleplay and storytelling, think of funny names for foreign dishes and play along when your kids are having fun at the table.

6. Eat at set times

If you want your children to eat, stick to sleeping and eating routines as much as possible during your holiday. Don’t underestimate the force of habit.

7. Reward good eating habits

Let your children choose what they want to eat, but make sure they know exactly what they are asking for. Don’t let them choose the same thing every day and make sure at least one other person at the table orders a sure bet so that your children can trade if their choice doesn’t work out. If your children make a daring choice and eat a healthy amount of it, reward them with pudding, an extra bedtime story or another treat.