The number one tip for encouraging healthy eating is to eat together as a family whenever possible. Sit at the table together and turn off the television. If your children see you tucking into your fruit and vegetables and enjoying them, they are likely to follow suit. Sitting round the table also has other advantages. When your children are old enough, mealtimes are a great opportunity to chat to your kids about their day. Talking helps them to learn about taking turns and listening to others, and extends their vocabulary. It's also a good way of getting to know more about your children and feeling closer to them.

As every mother knows, breast milk is best for her baby. Even feeding for a short time has advantages. Breast milk carries immunity to diseases and is easy for your baby to digest. The government recommends exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months. However, if you do bottle feed, don't feel guilty - formula milk does have all the nutrients your baby needs. From six months to one year, your baby will be taking up to a pint of breast or formula milk a day as well as solids. Then, from the age of one, you can introduce full-fat cows' milk.

Weaning means getting your baby to try the different tastes and textures of food in preparation for eating solids. The current government advice is not to start weaning until your baby is six months old. However, many parents start a little earlier. Begin by introducing single foods so that you can see what your baby likes and dislikes. Baby rice is a good first food as it is mixed with breast or formula milk so is a familiar taste. Mashed fruit, such as banana or blended vegetable like carrot or sweet potato are also easy and well liked.

As babies get used to more lumpy food, you can start to move on to solids. Toddlers from around 12 months should be self-feeding. Good choices for finger foods include dry breakfast cereals, fingers of toast, breadsticks, rice cakes, cubes of cheese, sticks of lightly cooked vegetables and sliced fruit such as bananas and apples, with a few raisins. Softer meats, like cubes of chicken or turkey, are well tolerated

By age two, a toddler can sit at the table and eat whatever you are eating, mashed or cut up, as necessary, although avoid salty or spicy foods. Fresh or frozen food is generally better than tinned or processed fare, which may contain colourings, preservatives and additives. Introduce your child to a wide variety of foods, adding just a small amount to their plate for them to try alongside more familiar foods. If they don't eat it, don't comment. Just take it away.

By age two, a toddler can sit at the table and eat whatever you are eating, mashed or cut up, as necessary, although avoid salty or spicy foods. Fresh or frozen food is generally better than tinned or processed fare, which may contain colourings, preservatives and additives. Introduce your child to a wide variety of foods, adding just a small amount to their plate for them to try alongside more familiar foods. If they don't eat it, don't comment. Just take it away.

For many children, vegetables (particularly the green varieties) are not a favourite food. A good tip for getting round this without a battle is to make a sauce out of puréed vegetables. This can then be poured over pasta, or mixed with rice. Serving vegetables puréed in a soup is another good option. You can also offer a selection of mini-vegetable sticks for dunking into a yogurt-based dip - they're a fun way of getting children to eat up their veg!

There's nothing more soul-destroying than spending an hour cooking a delicious meal for your child, only for them to say: “I don't like that!” If your child eats a limited range of foods, then concentrate on giving them foods that you know they'll like, while gradually working new foods into their diet. Introduce one or two tiny potions of new food every few weeks. Research suggests that children may need to try a new food between 15 and 20 times before they come to accept it.

Toddlers can become very anxious about trying new tastes and textures. The key with food refusal is to try and relax. Would you feel like eating if someone was standing over you, holding a spoon of food up to your face and making comments the whole time? Probably not, so try to take a step back. Given time, with gentle encouragement and praise, your child will eat a wider selection of foods. If you're concerned that your child is not eating a good range of foods, or is underweight for their age and height, talk to your health visitor or GP who will check this out for you.

You can expect your child to have developed reasonable table manners by the age of four. They should be able to use a knife and fork, but may need help with cutting up some food, and they should be able to sit at the table for between 15 and 20 minutes. If you have a younger child, they will copy their older brother or sister. The best way to teach your child to say 'please' and 'thank you' is by example - if you say 'please' and 'thank you', your children will soon start doing the same.