If you’re a mum with a picky eater in the house, you know mealtime is going to be a battlefield. By now, you know the drill: Serve the food, wait for the whining then try convincing, cajoling and scolding. When none of that works, bribe them with a candy and may be (just may be) you might just win the battle, for today.

Things get particularly restless during summer breaks when kids have free time to plan out their not-eating-this strategies. Your best shot to avoid these encounters is to let your kids get in the game.