Why eating with distractions is unhelpful for fussy eaters

Many parents’ despair as their child will only eat, or only eat well if distracted by a screen. It’s become a growing problem and is especially common when children are fussy eaters.

However, although it may seem impossible, removing the distractions is important.

If you are a parent who does NOT use a screen, you may still find some of the advice is useful. Especially in the ‘what you can do’ section.

Or you may be a parent who doesn’t use a screen but uses other distractions like reading a book or consistently ‘dancing on tables’ to help a child to eat. In which case — also helpful 🙂

I was shocked when a parent first told me that experts in childhood development had advised them to put their then two, year old daughter in front of a video to help her to eat better.

Since then, I have heard this advice frequently given to parents when their child is struggling to eat.

Admittedly, it can be almost a magic wand solution, for some children who are really challenged around food. With a screen, they go from hardly eating to being able to accept both more volume and more variety of food.
So, what’s not to love? Why is eating with distractions such a no-go?