One of us has three children and two of them are picky. The eleven-year-old is the extreme case: anything that isn't sweet, before school, is a negotiation nobody wins.
Refusing unfamiliar food is a named stage, not a parenting failure. A multinutrient does not end that negotiation. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling you something.
The short answer
- Refusing unfamiliar food peaks between 2 and 6 and is a normal stage of development.
- A child may need to see the same food ten to fifteen times before tasting it. Most families give up long before that.
- Pressure to eat is the most commonly used strategy and one of the least effective.
- No supplement solves food refusal. Pocket Kids does not either.
- Book a GP appointment if weight is falling off its usual line, the accepted list is still shrinking, or mealtimes are causing real distress.
This is a stage, and it has a name
Food neophobia: the rejection of unfamiliar foods. It appears around age 2, is most intense between 2 and 6, and fades afterwards. Dovey and colleagues reviewed that pattern in Appetite in 2008. It is ordinary.
Knowing it is ordinary matters, because most of the strain at the table does not come from the child. It comes from the belief that something has gone wrong.
There is a second thing happening at the same time. A young child's appetite is genuinely irregular. Growth slows sharply after the first year, and hunger slows with it. A child who ate everything at 14 months and eats half of it at 3 has not changed personality. They have changed growth rate.
What helps
Repeat without forcing. Repeated exposure is the mechanism with the most support behind it. Birch and Marlin showed in 1982 that preference can grow with looking, smelling, touching, then tasting, over many presentations. Put it on the plate, say nothing, take it away without comment, offer it again another day. Ten to fifteen times is the usual range cited in that literature.
Separate the roles. Ellyn Satter's division of responsibility: the adult decides what, when and where. The child decides whether and how much. It takes the meal out of negotiation, which is where dinner usually derails.
Eat together, and eat the same thing. Children copy. An adult eating vegetables without commenting does more than any explanation about vegetables.
Serve less. A full plate of something you do not want to eat is a mountain. A spoonful is a small decision. They can always have more.
Keep the refused food on the table. Not highlighted, not as a test. Just present. Familiarity does half the work.
The NHS page on fussy eaters is in the same register: keep offering, eat together, do not bribe with dessert. It is UK public advice, not a Portuguese or Spanish statute. The mechanism does not change at the border.
What almost never works
Insisting, bargaining or rewarding. "Three more forkfuls" turns dinner into a transaction. And pudding as a prize teaches precisely the wrong lesson: that broccoli is the price and cake is the value.
Cooking a second meal. Understandable at eight in the evening, and it guarantees there will be two dinners again tomorrow.
Hiding vegetables in sauces forever. As a way of getting variety into a hard day, fine. As the only strategy, the child never learns to recognise or accept the food, and that was the point.
Talking about food a lot at the table. The more the refusal is discussed, the more useful it becomes to the child.
Refusing specific foods is a different problem
"Won't eat anything" is almost never literal. It is usually a specific refusal, and each one has a different answer.
Won't eat vegetables or fruit. The most common. Fruit usually returns before vegetables because it is sweet. Keep serving it, in small portions, without comment, and offer both raw and cooked, because texture matters as much as flavour.
Won't eat meat. Often texture rather than taste: meat asks for more chewing. Check whether they accept egg, fish, pulses or cheese before assuming this is a protein problem. We wrote that plate out in full here.
Won't eat at creche or school, but eats at home. Very common and rarely a feeding problem. New surroundings, a different rhythm, and a child deciding where they feel safe. It usually sorts itself out. Ask the staff how the meal actually goes before you change anything at home.
Eats, but won't feed themselves. This is autonomy, not appetite. It is a normal stage, it is tedious, and it resolves by letting them do it even when it is slower and messier than spoon-feeding.
When it is worth talking to your GP
Most food refusal resolves with time and patience. Book an appointment if there is weight loss or a growth curve drifting away from its usual line, if the range of accepted foods is very narrow and still shrinking, if there is repeated gagging or vomiting, or if mealtimes are causing real distress to the child or the family.
This is not a list to diagnose yourself with at home. It is a list of reasons to stop waiting and make the call. In Portugal that call is the family doctor or the SNS 24 line. In Spain, the paediatrician or AESAN's healthy-eating materials sit beside that appointment, they do not replace it.
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Where My Daily Pocket fits
The question always comes up, so here is the plain answer, even though it does not flatter us.
A multinutrient does not solve food refusal. It does not create appetite, it does not widen the range of accepted foods, and it does not replace the slow habituation described above. If a brand suggests otherwise, they are taking advantage of how you feel on a Wednesday evening.
| Formula | What it is | Who it suits | Who it does not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pocket Kids (4–11) | One daily multinutrient powder | A parent who already decided a daily scoop sits beside a narrow week | Anyone hoping a pouch will end the negotiation. Children under 4. |
| Pocket Teens / Adults | The same idea, different amounts | The rest of the house, if that is the job | Food refusal in a younger child. |
Pocket Kids carries vitamin D3 25 µg, vitamin C 80 mg, zinc 5 mg, B12 25 µg, iodine 75 µg, B6 3 mg, magnesium 100 mg, K2 45 µg. It contains no iron. If meat has left the plate and iron is the worry, this pouch is the wrong product. That conversation belongs with a GP.
What a daily multinutrient can do is considerably more modest: sit beside the week while the rest happens. Whether that is worth doing depends entirely on the child, and it is a conversation for your GP or a dietitian, not for a brand.
We sell one. We still think the right answer to "my child won't eat" starts with repeating without forcing, eating together, and being patient for longer than seems reasonable. If you cook and the week is still thin, that is a different page: If you cook at home, do you still need a multinutrient?.
FAQ
Is it normal that my child will not eat new foods?
Yes, especially between 2 and 6. It has a name, food neophobia, and it usually fades. It is not proof that you have failed.
How many times should I offer a refused food?
The literature usually cites ten to fifteen presentations, including looking and smelling, not only a full portion. Most families stop earlier.
Will a multinutrient fix picky eating?
No. Ours will not either. Anyone who says a scoop ends refusal is selling you something.
When should I call the GP?
If weight is leaving its usual line, the accepted list is still shrinking, there is repeated gagging or vomiting, or mealtimes are causing real distress.
What if they will not eat meat?
Check eggs, fish, pulses and dairy first. B12 sits in animal foods. Iron is a different job, and we do not sell it. Read the meat article.
Sources
- Dovey TM et al. Food neophobia and picky/fussy eating in children. Appetite, 2008
- Birch LL, Marlin DW. I don't like it; I never tried it. Appetite, 1982
- Ellyn Satter Institute, division of responsibility in feeding
- NHS, fussy eaters
- SNS 24
- AESAN
- If your child does not eat meat
- If you cook at home, do you still need a multinutrient?
About the authors
Lina is a co-founder of My Daily Pocket and is certified in nutrition. Stanislava is a co-founder. They write the Knowledge Hub together.
Last reviewed: 14 October 2026.
Food supplements should not replace a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. No supplement is a substitute for a varied, balanced diet. Stay within the dose on the pack. This page does not replace a GP. If you are pregnant, on medicines, or a child has a medical condition, speak to a professional.
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