Every parent has suspected it at least once. Now researchers have found that children who are ‘fussy eaters’ only play up over their food when they are at home. When they are eating with others in environments such as nurseries, toddlers are more likely to consume whatever is put in front of them. Experts at the University of Illinois recorded 50 three to five-year-olds who ate lunch at home with parents and at childcare. Each child was given the same two dishes – a ‘popular’ meal of grilled chicken strips, tortillas and a banana for pudding, and an ‘unpopular’ meal of a wholemeal turkey and cheese sandwich with fresh broccoli, and grapes for dessert. Researchers then monitored how each child reacted to the food in both settings. The study, published in the journal Appetite, showed when infants were served the unpopular option they were three times as likely to make a fuss at home than at nursery. Reporting on the findings, researchers said, “Picky eating is reported by up to 50 percent of parents.” Suggesting that childcare workers are less likely to give into demands for different food, they said, “The home environment may be where children are the most comfortable or where they feel their actions can make a difference to the outcome.”