IT WAS her work with overweight children that led Linda Tollis to write her own program for fussy eaters.
Mrs Tollis, a mother of two, noticed the correlation between children who ate few vegetables and obesity in her work as Go4Fun's nutrition and mind leader for Sutherland Shire.
Go4Fun is a NSW Health-funded program for children aged seven to 13 who are above a healthy weight range.
Ms Tollis said she found about half the students referred to the program were fussy eaters who did not eat any vegetables.
Her childcare background and studies in nutrition led her to write the Love Real Food program, which launches this month.
Mrs Tollis joins forces with Sutherland Shire-based occupational therapist Jacky Peile and a speech therapist for the 10-week program for children aged five to 13.
Children will be educated about nutrition, what foods their body needs and what they should avoid in a fun program that includes games and MasterChef-style cooking lessons. Fussy eaters will then be encouraged to sample new food.
"Parents will learn strategies on how to get their child to love real food without all the fuss," Mrs Tollis said.
"The health benefits, behaviour improvement and joy to see children eat well is life changing."
Mrs Tollis blames the increase in packaged snack foods, which are laden with salt, sugar, flavour enhancers and numbers for "corrupting the taste buds" of a generation of children.
She said she knew of children who ate only 10 foods and urged parents not to give up on fussy eaters.
"You really have to keep reoffering and reoffering up to 20 times when you are getting kids to try food," Mrs Tollis said.
She said some children needed to touch and smell a food several times before they worked up to tasting it.
Ten weekly sessions for children aged five to 13 will start on Monday, July 28, 5pm-6pm, and Friday, August 1, 4pm-5pm. A program for children aged under six will run Wednesdays and Thursdays, 1.30pm-2.30pm.
Sessions run at Caringbah Guide Hall, Jacaranda Road, Caringbah. The program costs $100 and health fund rebates may apply.
An additional program for very fussy eaters is also in the works.
SENSORY PROBLEMS
Some children who refuse to eat certain foods suffer from ‘‘sensory sensitivities,’’ says occupational therapist Jacky Peile.
She said the texture, smell and colour of food was perceived as threatening by some children’s brains while others had problems chewing and swallowing.
‘‘Together, these physical and sensory conditions can significantly limit the variety of foods and the volume of foods children will eat,’’ Ms Peile said.
She said Colorado-based paediatric psychologist Kay Toomey developed a plan to treat children with feeding problems that encouraged children to ‘‘play with and explore the sensory properties’’ of food.
The plan has been incorporated into the Love Real Food program.
Details: Linda, 0418 885 856.
Are your children fussy eaters? What tips can you share with other parents struggling at meal time?
