Picky eater at home? Try the 5-day breakfast challenge
A calm, five-day plan to help your toddler try new breakfasts, with a tracker you can tick off each morning.
26/10/20266 min readInteractive
"He ate it yesterday. Today he won't even look at it."
If you have a toddler, you have said this. Picky eating between ages 2 and 5 is common, and in most children it is a phase. Toddlers are learning that they can say no, and food is one of the few places where they get to decide.
The goal for a parent is to keep the plate interesting and the mood calm, and let the child come to the food in their own time. Forcing it rarely works.
Try it
The 5-day breakfast challenge tracker
Week 1 · tap one button each morning. Saved in this browser only.
Day 1
Colour day
Banana, papaya and a small bowl of warm barley porridge. Name the colours first.
Day 2
Shape day
A smiley face on the porridge with banana slices and soaked raisins.
Day 3
Little chef day
Your child stirs, adds the fruit or sprinkles powdered nuts.
Day 4
Dip day
Soft roti strips or toast fingers with thick barley porridge as a dip.
Day 5
Their choice day
Two healthy options on the table. Your child picks one.
The five breakfast ideas
- Day 1, Colour day: Banana, papaya and a small bowl of warm barley porridge. Name the colours first.
- Day 2, Shape day: A smiley face on the porridge with banana slices and soaked raisins.
- Day 3, Little chef day: Your child stirs, adds the fruit or sprinkles powdered nuts.
- Day 4, Dip day: Soft roti strips or toast fingers with thick barley porridge as a dip.
- Day 5, Their choice day: Two healthy options on the table. Your child picks one.
Base for every day: 2 to 3 spoons of Takmeeli Talbeena cooked in 1 cup of milk for 3 to 5 minutes. Serve warm, never hot.
Shop Takmeeli TalbeenaBefore you start: four rules for the week
- One new thing at a time, served next to something your child already likes.
- A small portion. A spoonful on the plate is less scary than a full bowl.
- No bribes, no punishments. "Finish this and you get chocolate" teaches that the vegetable is the bad part.
- Eat together. Children copy what they see far more than what they hear.
The 5-day challenge
Day 1: Colour day. Put three colours on the plate: a slice of banana, a few pieces of papaya, and a small bowl of warm barley porridge. Ask your child to name the colours before eating.
Day 2: Shape day. Pour the porridge into a bowl and draw a smiley face on top with banana slices and a few soaked raisins. Let them "eat the eyes first".
Day 3: Little chef day. Let your child stir the bowl, add the fruit, or sprinkle powdered nuts. A child who helped make it is far more likely to taste it.
Day 4: Dip day. Serve soft roti strips or toast fingers with a thick barley porridge as a dip. Toddlers love food they can hold.
Day 5: Their choice day. Put out two healthy options and let your child pick. Being in charge is often the whole point for them.
Tick each day in the tracker. At the end, look at what worked. Repeat it next week.
What counts as a win
A win is your child touching the new food, smelling it, licking it, or taking one bite. Research on young children's eating suggests a new food may need to be offered many times, often 8 to 15, before a child accepts it. So a "no" on Day 1 is normal and part of the process.
Safety for little ones
- Give nuts and seeds only as a fine powder to children under 5. Whole nuts are a choking risk.
- Serve porridge warm, never hot. Test it on the inside of your wrist.
- Keep sugar low. Let the fruit do the sweetening.
- If your child is losing weight, refuses whole food groups for weeks, gags often, or seems unwell, see your paediatrician.
A breakfast base that works all week
A barley porridge is soft, warm and mild, and it takes any topping. That makes it a useful base for all five days. Takmeeli Talbeena cooks in a few minutes with milk.
Ready for a better breakfast?