The U.S. steps back on Ukraine intelligence aid, Auckland fire continues, and nursing training sees a boost.
One of Rose Bertram’s four children didn’t like peas, one would gag at certain foods, one over ate, and another struggled with food textures.
She said she knows exactly what it is like to clash with a picky eater at meal times, but has become sensitive and understanding of theirpreferences.
“They all had quite varying degrees of sensory challenges around food and picky eating.”
Rose Bertram and her 7-year-old son Ruben work together to prepare food, something she encouraged parents to do with children to help with picky eating.
It was after a realisation that she might not be alone that Bertram, parent educator with Tararua Reap, decided to run picky eating workshops to help other parents and their children.
The workshops have now run for over a year and Bertram said they were designed for parents of children of all ages.
She said each child was different and the workshops over three weeks explored the role of sensory processing, genetics, neurodivergence and how they turn kids into picky eaters.
“It can be tricky catering for each child at meal times, and this course helps parents to find ways to do this in a stress-free way. Without having to cook multiple meals in one night.”
Bertram said the workshops were broken down so parents could easily digest the information.
“We start around the research - what is picky eating, and what is the statistics.”
Bertram said studies showed that about 50% of children between 18 months and 4 years were picky eaters, and 75% grew out of it.
“That’s a lot of families that it is stressful at meal times and with the cost of living and the cost of food you don’t want waste.”
The workshops examined strategies for coping with children and their eating habits and focused on why children were picky eaters.
“That’s a lot to do with genetics or there is a medical reason or sensory challenges.”
She said children often associate food with feelings, which could contribute to their opposition to certain foods.
“Say they are sick at the time whether they have a cold or a tummy bug and perhaps one of their last meals ... they can associate that food with that feeling.”
Rose Bertram said some children were not just being fussy and that genetics could play a role in their dislike for green vegetables.
Bertram said she helped parents understand where their child is on the “picky eater spectrum” which had three categories.
The first was typical developmental pickiness where a child goes through a short-term phase.
Then there was the picky eater who “might refuse a food for a while”, but would accept it reintroduced into their diet, and could understand their hunger cues.
Bertram said at the top end of the scale was a child deemed a “selective eater or a problem feeder”.
This was a child who had less than 20 foods on their food list and was someone who would go off something and fail to reintroduce it into their diet.
She said the senses played a massive role in a child’s selectiveness of certain foods and explored the role of genetics in how food tasted.
“A lot of it is the green vegetables, it’s just understanding that your child might have that gene.”
Bertram said she tailored the experience for the parents and covered the specific aspects of eating they were interested in.
The workshops run on March 13, 20 and 27 in Dannevirke and interested parents can register with Tararua Reap.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
