One of Fiona's tried and tested techniques is the very antithesis of what most parents say to their children: "Don't play with your food!" - at Toddler Chef, a lot of our techniques are based on exactly that! In this way, food stuffs are demystified and a child's natural fear or suspicion of certain foods (or new foods) is alleviated.

Toddler Chef believes in making meal-times fun, imaginative and interactive – with lots of encouragement and healthy rewards. Please always remember that what may seem a very small step to you is often a huge and significant step forward for your child. We do have a few little rules though...

Our first rule is: for kids to eat healthily, they need to experience their parents doing the same (sorry about that!);

The second: kids have to try everything once before they’re allowed to say “I don’t like it!”; that said, we never exert pressure on children to try something. They must always decide this for themselves.

Third: try to eat together as a family as much as you can; involve your child with shopping for food, preparing food, growing food even....

Fourth: introduce each new food stuff gently and in small stages - and not always at mealtimes ( we talk more about these techniques in class).

Finally, treats are perfectly fine and parents have the right to decide what does and doesn’t constitute a treat, and if and when their kids have them.