How can I encourage my child to eat?

This fact sheet is part of a section about childhood cancer. To access the rest of the content in this section, see Childhood cancer.

A sore mouth and throat are common side effects of treatment which can affect a child's ability to eat, making it more difficult for them to have a balanced and varied diet. There is information about mouth and dental care in the following fact sheet:

• Side effects of chemotherapy: Sore mouth

The first step is to make sure your child has a fresh, clean mouth before eating. Swishing with water or a mouthwash may be enough, or you may need to help with gentle teeth cleaning. After that, select foods keeping in mind the following hints:

• give soft moist foods such as custard and yoghurt, scrambled eggs, mornays, mashed vegetables with butter, ice cream, pasta, custard, rice or baby food
• give nourishing drinks that can be sipped slowly - see suggestions in High energy drinks
• avoid giving foods that might sting like citrus juice and very salty or spicy foods
• avoid giving rough foods like toast, and foods that may need a lot of chewing
• keep foods moist by adding extra gravy, sauce, yoghurt, cream or butter

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