Mum's responses to tips for fuss free mealtimes with bubs

Hey there mummas, so I have finally had a chance to sit down and share some really good insights from you guys on this topic for "tips for fuss free mealtimes". I firstly want to say thank you so much for your wonderful responses and I apologise if your response didn't make it into the list, we were quite overwhelmed with tips, which is amazing!

The thing about this is no bub & toddler are the same in this department (I can vouch for that with our 3 little ones), but funnily enough we have had some really intriguing & similar responses to how we all go about accommodating a less fussy mealtime.

So, see below, some really great tips for dealing with our fussy ones at mealtimes, some extremely funny ones which I know I have done and probably will continue to do, eg. bribes with chocolate after the meal anyone?

The most frequent tips are below, in order of popularity:

1/ Playing some background music, a familiar song or have Alexa on to shuffle music;

2/ Ensure they are comfortable, eg. have adequate foot support /Footsi* - (well we all know that having a comfortable child at mealtimes makes for better mealtimes, but it's also nice to know that when I am sitting down next to my daughter that she is comfortable also and can therefore concentrate on eating her food);

3/ Sit down and eat together (which we all know can be difficult with multiple kids on different routines, but this is actually a key tip from most of the OT's out there, along with familiarity in music played, having a family meal together is important for the kids to see how we behave at mealtimes and they can copy us);

4/ Bribes, eg. chocolate after dinner (this came in higher than I thought!);

5/ Let them choose their own meal / let them serve themselves, as Kyla from Baby Mealtimes would say #samemealsametime

6/ No pressure to eat anything;

7/ Give them less food (and add to it as they eat) = less food to play with;

8/ Smock bibs, bibs generally (less mess on bub = less fuss);

9/ Tidy tot (thank you Ast + Co for having these available in Australia);

10/ Don't let them get hangry;

11/ An obedient child (I had to laugh here, especially at mealtimes right?).

I hope you have enjoyed reading these tips and would love to hear any of your feedback.

Thank you,

Melina.

IG - @nibbleandrest

FB - /nibbleandrest

Thanks for reading.

*The Footsi™️ is a highchair footrest for the Ikea Antilop or similar and has its design protected in the following regions through its design name "Baby Chair Footrest" and respective design numbers:

Australia: 201816601
USA: 29/690,157
EU/UK community registration: 006375853