Fussy eating in children can be incredibly difficult to deal with; it's a problem that most parents deal with and no one really talks about, as countless parents have had their patience disintegrate trying to get their little ones to eat broccoli. If you're lucky your child will grow out of it - but if you have found yourself worrying over your picky eater, just know you're not alone
Chrissy Teigen made the relatable revelation that while her eldest daughter Luna "is the best eater", her son Miles, five, is not.
"Luna is amazing, she eats salads, vegetables," Chrissy explained. But it turns out that Miles really struggles to eat vegetables.
"Miles has still not had a vegetable," Teigen revealed on The Jimmy Kimmel Show. "He is six, almost. He accidentally ate a broccoli floret in fried rice and was so upset about it."
If Chrissy Teigen, who writes cooking books and hosts cooking television shows, struggles to get her son to eat vegetables then truly it must be a tough predicament to find yourself in. But she hasn't given up. The model revealed she went on a Zoom call where they talk about picky eaters and she learned that "it's the only thing they really have control over at that age so he uses it."
Parenting expert Charlotte Stirling-Reed, The Baby & Child Nutritionist at The Baby Show, revealed to HELLO! that Chrissy's approach to her fussy five year old is actually very interesting.
"I love how Chrissy has decided to delve a bit deeper into fussy eating to try and combat it at home", she said.
"Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in a bit of a rut with food refusal with little ones, but instead she’s done some digging and it sounds like she’s learning about why it happens and what she can do to help."
Charlotte added: "There are so many ways you can help reduce food refusal, but it takes time, patience and also some empathy - which Chrissy is clearly showing!"
The nutritionist explained that fussy eating isn't often kids trying to be naughty.
"Sometimes it’s them just searching for autonomy or independence, which is why we see it a lot in toddlerhood," she explained. "It can be really challenging, but it’s best to stick to what you offer regularly, but also allow children autonomy to refuse foods if they want at mealtimes."
Simply saying, "that’s ok you don’t have to eat it," can actually really help.
According to Charlotte, "quite often this is all kids are looking for and it will allow them to be eventually happy to explore more - especially if they see you exploring a variety of foods at home too!"
It can be easy to presume that celebrities have perfect lives, although Chrissy has always kept it real with fans. As she has opened up about the difficulties of trying to diversify a child's diet, perhaps more parents will start to take a more empathetic approach too.