Gemma Atkinson begs for parenting advice as daughter goes through 'beige phase'
Gemma Atkinson has begged for help as she tries to "get a bit of excitement back" for her daughter.
The former Hollyoaks star, 39, took to her social media to ask her followers for advice after her little girl entered the "beige phase" with her eating. Gemma, who shares her daughter Mia and son Thiago with Strictly Come Dancing professional Gorka Márquez, asked if other parents had experienced the same with their children.
Posting on her Instagram Story, Gemma said: "I don't know if anyone else has noticed this with their children, when Mia was at home and when she was at nursery and pre-school and all that, she ate so well. Incredibly well. Her favourite was fresh prawns, avocado and rice. She loved it, she would eat any kind of fruit, whatever. Now she is at school, she has school dinners and because she gets to pick what she wants, she is picking a ham roll, a ham butty.
Gemma asked for parenting advice for her daughter Mia (Instagram)
Gemma and Gorka welcomed baby Thiago earlier this year (Gemma Atkinson/Instagram)"I keep telling her to pick something else, pick the pasta, pick the veg. I am trying now to get a bit of excitement back in her meals." She then asked her followers: "Anyone else's child's food change dramatically when they were old enough to choose? She's gone from everything freshly cooked that we gave her to utter beige food which at weekends I'm all for but I'm adamant she has proper nutrition in the week.
"She used to love my tomato pasta sauce that I hit loads of veg in. Now she asks for pasta with no sauce. How the hell does that even taste nice??" Gemma returned to her Instagram a few hours later to give an update to her followers. The actress added: "Also, every single message I've received is saying your child is the same and either went through or is currently going through the 'beige faze'.
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"PHEW! I mean, I get it, sometimes all I want is toast and digestives. Nice to know most parents experience it though so don't worry if you're going through it."
Earlier this month Gemma furiously defended her approach to parenting after a fan slated her approach to introducing solid food into her young son’s diet. Gemma and Gorka welcomed their baby son Thaigo earlier this year but many fans noticed the four-month-old has moved on from milk and is dining enthusiastically on porridge two times a day.
One follower asked how the couple realised Thiago would be able to handle solid food. Gemma replied: “Hey! I knew as it was the same things Mia did. Draining his bottles and still rooting for more (even with a 6 ounce) taking an interest in watching us eat, picking his lips when I was eating and reaching for my food if I was eating with him on my knee. He’s a lot bigger than Mia was as well so u knew he was defo ready.”
But another follower accused Gemma of ignoring NHS advice. The unimpressed fan wrote: “None of them are signs of readiness lovely. Signs of readiness are sitting up with no or little support, no tongue thrust and being able to put food up to their mouth themselves. Look on the NHS website, draining bottles and watching you eat are not signs of readiness. Just really don’t want you spreading misinformation to new mams.”
Gemma lashed back as she wrote: “That’s why I always say ppl should do their own research. I spoke with a private baby physio who told me that the sitting up with no support is down to a babies weight & size not food related at all hence why they all do it at different stages. The sitting up for food is to reduce choking hazards. Weaning with different foods of course you wait for the 6 month mark. I won’t be giving him breadsticks or anything just yet. But smooth baby porridge from his same brand of milk recommended from 4 months is working for us, just as it did for Mia.
“Also, I LOVE our NHS but the guidelines change on the site a lot as well. When I’ve asked why something is recommended it’s always because ‘those are the guidelines now’. There never seems to be any actual evidence or reason why which is a shame as it’d help us mums a lot more. I understand hospitals have policies they stick to but for me as a 2nd time mum I’m a lot more confident in my decisions for them. 100% each to their own though for sure..”
According to the NHS, introducing solid foods should start when the baby is around 6 months old. There are three signs which show a baby is ready for their first solid foods alongside breast milk or first infant formula. They'll be able to stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady, co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth by themselves and swallow food (rather than spit it back out).
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