Is fussy eating the parent’s fault?

“I feel like I should have done baby-led weaning like my friends. I was just so afraid that Ben would choke. But then when we served him foods that weren’t pureed he wasn’t interested in eating”.

“I wish I hadn’t done baby-led weaning; Lucy will still only eat foods that aren’t mixed together, and she hates anything that’s mushy or in a bowl”.

“Evan was eating okay until he got a stomach bug, and then everything seemed to change”.

“Abi never took to food. Right from the start she just wasn’t interested. Even when breastfeeding she would lose interest so quickly”.

When I ask parents why they believe their child struggles to eat I get a variety of answers. Many give me a list of all the things they feel they have done wrong and feel fussy eating is their fault.

Others really struggle to give an answer as food has just always seemed so challenging for their child. Or there seems to be a ‘before’ and ‘after’ with holidays or sickness or moving, for example responsible for the change.

Fussy eating is my fault or is it?

Parent guilt often creeps in in all areas of parenting. It’s natural to blame ourselves when things go wrong, especially with one of the things we feel is a core responsibility, like feeding.