Mum's 'Toddler Takeaway' Hack Is A Hit With Parents Of Fussy Eaters

A mum has been applauded by parents of fussy eaters for devising a clever hack to encourage her son to eat his dinner.

Terri Munro, from Essex, has trouble getting her 22-month-old toddler to eat, so she decided to trick him into thinking he was having a takeaway “like a big boy”.

Munro wrote on The Motherload Facebook group: “He thinks he’s got a takeaway (pizza boxes bought on eBay).

“It was such a success, I may have to put his milk in a coke bottle now!”

Motherload

Munroe said she came up with the idea because her son George had seen his auntie eating “pizza in a box” and got excited.

She thought a healthier and cheaper option that would please him would be for her to make a pizza and stick it in a box.

“We plan on using carrot sticks in the fries box, making healthier food fun to eat,” she said. “At the end of the day, getting George to eat sometimes is hard work, so anything we can try that makes that process easier is worth a try.”

Parents commenting on the Facebook photo loved the idea. One mum wrote: “Fantastic, I’m stealing this idea for my two,” and another wrote: “You deserve a gold star, can’t believe I’ve never thought of this before.”

Alison McGarragh-Murphy, editor of The Motherload told HuffPost UK: “One of the toughest times in the day of a parent is mealtimes - it can be such a nightmare getting your child to eat anything.

“The photo went crazy in the group with well over 1k likes and loads of comments from mums of fussy eaters who wanted to try it out too.”

If your child is a fussy eater, NICE guidance issued in September 2017 advised parents to encourage children to play with their food. Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of health and social care at NICE, said at the time: “Having a child with faltering growth can be distressing for parents and carers.

“However, simple things such as encouraging relaxed and enjoyable feeding and mealtimes, eating together as a family or even allowing young children to be ‘messy’ with their food can help encourage them to eat.”

Instead of worrying about manners, the guidelines urged parents to relax and stop cajoling children into eating nicely, as this could be preventing them from doing so at all.

Before You Go

7 Fun Creative Craft Projects For Toddlers

Make a crown fit for a prince or princess(01 of07)

Wrap bendable card around your child's head, take the measurement and trim off the excess card. Next, cut the card into a crown using a zigzag or get creative and try sticky-up hair or a favourite animal’s head or ears. Now it's your toddler's turn to decorate the card with felt tip pens, paint and glued-on bits of paper. Once they’re done staple the short sides together to create the crown. This is a great craft project for a play date. (credit:Matelly via Getty Images)

Make a car for whacky races(02 of07)

Large cardboard boxes are just begging to be transformed into cars. Glue paper plates to the side as wheels and let your child's imagination roar. They may want to draw in people and make a bus or add windscreens and doors but let them take the driving seat. (credit:patrickheagney via Getty Images)

Make a mask(03 of07)

Make masks with paper plates, hole punched on either side and threaded with elastic to fit your child's head. Your toddler can create whatever face they like using pens, paint, cut up tissue paper for hair and pipe cleaners for whiskers. (credit:igor kisselev, www.close-up.biz via Getty Images)

Make a model with modelling clay(04 of07)

Toddlers love squishing, rolling and moulding play dough with different shaped cutters and their hands. Keep your homemade play dough in a sealed container or mix up a new batch with this super simple recipe: 3 cups of flour; 2 tablespoons of cornflour, 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of cold water and 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil. Your toddler will love mixing up the ingredients. Divide your dough and choose different food colourings. Note: The salt content of homemade play dough is very high - keep an eye on your toddler to make sure they don’t eat any. (credit:Westend61 via Getty Images)

Do some potato printing and finger painting(05 of07)

Halve a few potatoes and cut out shapes of stars, circles, letters or animals (whatever your child asks you to do). Then, dip the cut out potato half into washable, brightly coloured poster paint and it's time for some stamping fun on plain paper. Hand printing is lots of squelchy fun too (and you'll have a lovely record of just how little their hands were). (credit:Michaela Gunter via Getty Images)

Make some binoculars or a telescope(06 of07)

This couldn't be simpler: after your toddler has painted two cardboard tubes the colours of their choice, tape them together for a pair of binoculars. A single longer roll (from your kitchen towel) makes a great pirate's telescope too. (credit:Chris Stein via Getty Images)

Make some silly glasses(07 of07)

Cut out a pair of glasses in plain cardboard. Stick coloured cellophane into the holes as lenses and let your toddler paint them in bright, funky colours. Once the paint is dry, provide a selection of sparkly bits and pieces to decorate: think sequins, buttons, self-adhesive spots, even pasta shapes. Now your toddler is ready for a super-cute photo opportunity. Note: Ensure your toddler is supervised at all times as small objects like sequins and buttons are choking hazards. (credit:Westend61 via Getty Images)