It can be very disheartening putting your heart and soul into preparing a delicious, healthy meal for your foster child, only to have them say they’d prefer chicken nuggets or fries. We know how frustrating this can be, especially if it means you end up making two or three different meals to cater to each family member’s food preferences.
But when it comes to encouraging foster children to try new foods, there is usually more to it than them just being a ‘fussy eater’, and in this article, we will explore why. We’ll also take a closer look at children’s healthy eating, tips for helping children try new foods, and further support and resources that can help your foster child build a healthier relationship with food.
Benefits of healthy eating for children
If you’re reading this, you probably already know that eating healthily is good for children. From maintaining a healthy body weight and having more energy to building habits that could reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes and other chronic health conditions, the benefits of eating a well-balanced diet are far-reaching.
But according to recent studies, children’s health is in decline – heights are falling, obesity is growing, and cases of type 2 diabetes in under 25-year-olds have increased by 22%.
That’s where you, as a foster parent, come in. Whether you provide long-term or short-term foster care, you can play a pivotal role in helping improve the health outcomes for children in care. But before we explore the steps you can take to encourage foster children to eat healthily, it’s important to understand the barriers they often face when it comes to food.
Foster children trying new foods: Why is it a struggle?
Every child’s story is unique; they’ve all had different experiences and have had to deal with some of the most challenging circumstances that even adults would struggle to cope with. Whether it was abuse, neglect, or something else that brought them into care, the upheaval and trauma can have a knock-on effect on their diet.
Below, we explore how neglect, trauma, and moving into care can impact a foster child’s eating habits and nutrition.
Neglect and nutrition
The effects of childhood neglect don’t simply disappear when a child moves into care. If they often went hungry, they may have found ways to meet this need on their own. When they move into care, they may continue to use these coping mechanisms. Although each child will develop their own survival strategies, a child who has lived in a home with limited access to food may:
- Save a little extra food during mealtimes for later, so they know they won’t go hungry.
- Eat until they’re physically sick, unable to recognise when they’re full.
- Take food from other children’s lunchboxes.
- Only eat one type of food because they’ve had a limited diet.
- Eat off other people’s plates.
- Find it difficult to try new flavours and textures.
- Experience a small appetite because they’ve become used to a lack of food.
- Eat uncooked food or food way past its best.
- Persistently check the fridge and cupboard or ask about food.
Trauma and eating habits
Our emotions can have a huge influence on our eating habits. For example, if you’re nervous about an upcoming meeting or doctors’ appointment, you may feel nauseous and struggle to even think about food. If you’re feeling a bit down, there may be a comfort food you turn to that you know will give you a little pick-me-up.
For children in care, who are trying to process their new living situation alongside the experiences that led them into care, food can be even more complex and deeply intertwined with their trauma:
- Comfort food: They may prefer to eat one type of food because it reminds them of home and brings them comfort.
- Control: They’ve had little control over what has happened to them or why they’ve moved into care, but deciding what they put in their mouth may give them a sense of control.
- Sensory sensitivities: If they’re hypervigilant or neurodiverse, they may be sensitive to the way food tastes, smells, or is presented on a plate, making it difficult for them to explore new foods.
- Aversions: If a child has experienced forced feeding or eaten expired food that made them ill, they may develop aversions to particular types of foods.
- Associations: They may not connect eating with joy; instead, they see it as something linked to punishment.
- Children’s eating disorders: In some cases, they may have developed an eating disorder, such as Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), which can cause little interest in eating, extreme aversions to certain foods or a fear of vomiting or choking.
As a foster parent, it’s important to apply a therapeutic approach when addressing a child’s challenges with food. This means taking the time to look beyond their relationship with eating to understand the root cause.
Once you understand why they struggle to explore new foods, you can begin applying the tips below to help them build healthy eating habits.
Tips for introducing children to new healthy food
Identify and serve their ‘safe food’
When a child moves into your home, they need time to settle in and get to know you and your family before exploring new foods. During this time, it’s a good idea to serve them ‘safe foods’ that you and your foster child know they’ll enjoy.
Once they feel more at home, you can start introducing new healthy foods alongside their safe foods. For example, if their safe food is pizza, you could also serve sides of veggies or salad. Even if they don’t eat them at first, this will give them a chance to get used to the idea of them being a normal part of their meal.
It may also help if you encourage them to touch and smell the new foods and praise them for each step they take, no matter how small.
Try not to put pressure on them
As a foster parent, it’s only natural to want your foster child to eat a well-balanced diet. But putting pressure on a child to try new foods by observing them eating or looking disappointed when they refuse to eat unfamiliar meals could actually make things worse.
They may become more anxious about mealtimes because they’re worried about disappointing you. Exploring new foods should be a positive experience, so use gentle encouragement, let them take the lead, and reassure them that it’s okay if they don’t want to try the new foods today; there is always tomorrow.
Talk to them about healthy eating
When the time is right, discuss healthy eating with your foster child. If they’ve just moved in, it’s probably not the right time to bring up the subject, as they’ll be trying to come to terms with everything that has happened. Conversation could also feel scary to them, especially if in the past they’ve been told to stay quiet or were even punished for voicing their opinions or needs.
Once your foster child has settled in and built a relationship with you and your family, you could talk to them about healthy eating while preparing a meal together or when you’re shopping for groceries. Books like The Children’s Book of Healthy Eating by Jo Stimpson and YouTube videos like this one can also make it easier to approach the topic because they’re fun, visual, and accessible.
Make healthy versions of favourite meals
If your foster child loves a certain food that isn’t particularly nutritious, you could try making a healthy version of it instead. For example, if they love mac and cheese, a recipe like this one includes lots of hidden veggies but still tastes as good as the original.
If your foster child is attached to processed foods, like nuggets, biscuits or fizzy drinks, why not create your own? This way, you’ll improve the quality of the food they’re eating and can ensure they aren’t eating more than the daily recommendations of salt and sugar for their age.
Prepare meals together
Include your foster child in meal planning and preparation so they can see exactly what goes into each meal. To make it more fun, you could buy them a chef’s hat and apron, and let them choose a recipe for your whole family to try.
While cooking up the meal, encourage your foster child to taste the individual ingredients, and when you serve it to the family, make sure they all praise your foster child’s efforts. Seeing everyone enjoy the meal they’ve helped create may motivate them to try it out for themselves out of curiosity.
Adjust how you eat as a family
If your foster child comes from a home where they never sat at the dinner table together to eat meals, doing so in their new foster home could be incredibly overwhelming.
A great way to make them feel more comfortable is to adjust the way your family eat, at least for the time being, until your foster child feels more relaxed in your company. You could set up a buffet on the table, have a picnic in your back garden, or order pizza and watch a movie together while you eat. Over time, you could slowly introduce sitting at the table together every couple of days until it becomes the norm.
Set achievable goals
Helping your foster child build healthy eating habits is a marathon, not a sprint; it takes time, patience, and a few hiccups along the way.
To make the process feel more manageable, set yourself achievable short-term goals to help you stay motivated to reach your long-term goal of transforming your foster child’s relationship with food.
This could really help you on tough days when you feel like giving up. You’ll be able to look back and see how much your foster child has progressed with your help, giving you the confidence boost you need to keep on going.
As a foster parent, it’s important to apply a therapeutic approach when addressing a child’s challenges with food. This means taking the time to look beyond their relationship with eating to understand the root cause.
Once you understand why they struggle to explore new foods, you can begin applying the tips below to help them build healthy eating habits.
Support for helping children try new foods
At FCA, our support for children in foster care is tailored to their needs, so if you’re concerned about their eating habits, talk to your supervising social worker. They’ll be able to offer you advice and guidance, signposting you to additional support and resources.
You can also find additional guidance on the NHS Healthier Families website, from healthy food swaps and recipes to games and activities. This resource provides valuable tips to help keep your whole family healthy.
Start your fostering journey today
Want to learn more about fostering? Call us on 0800 098 4148 or submit an online enquiry form and we’ll be in touch.
