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Food chaining: what it is and how to start

Food chaining is a gentle way to widen a short list of accepted foods: start from something your child already eats and change one thing at a time.

The idea in one paragraph

Food chaining links a food your child already accepts to a similar food with a related taste, texture, shape or colour, then to another, one small step at a time. The method is usually credited to speech-language pathologist Cheri Fraker and colleagues, who described it in the book Food Chaining (2007). It is a feeding-therapy idea that parents also use at home.

What the main sources say that points the same way

  • The NHS advises gradually introducing other foods and going back to foods a child did not like before, because children's tastes change and it may take many attempts. It also suggests that changing how a food is served can help, for example cooked carrots refused but raw grated carrot enjoyed.
  • HealthyChildren.org, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, says it can take 10 or more tastings before a toddler accepts a food, and suggests offering new foods in small amounts alongside foods the child likes.
  • The Ellyn Satter Institute says it can take several neutral exposures before a child decides to try or eat a food, and recommends providing a variety of foods, some new and some familiar.

A simple way to try it

These steps are our own plain-English summary, not a quotation from any one source.

  • Pick one food your child reliably eats.
  • Change one thing: a brand, a shape, a dip, a cooking method or a colour.
  • Serve it alongside the usual food without comment. Do not ask for a bite.
  • Leave it a few days, then try the next small step. Going back a step is fine.

What chaining is not

It is not a way to get a child to eat more, and it is not a reason to pressure them. Whether to eat and how much stays with the child. If the list of accepted foods is very short, is shrinking, or you are worried about growth or health, talk to your health visitor or GP, who can refer you to a feeding specialist if needed.

Where Bitzi fits

Bitzi offers ideas for similar foods to try next, framed as small steps. It is a source of ideas, not a programme or a treatment.

Sources

Sources read on 2026-10-26. Pages may have changed since. This guide is general information, not medical advice.