Toast shapes and fruit designs are great for getting a fussy child interested in food, but working parents don’t always have the time to get creative.

Although mornings are a busy time in her household, Alicia Tucker was insistent that breakfast was too important a meal for her two-year-old to mess around with.

“Noah can be a bit of a picky eater at times,” she explained. “I mostly distract him with his favourite show or music and we make eating time fun!”

She uses cookie cutters to form toast into fun shapes, and grapes and berries to create smiley faces and spell out her son’s name.

Still, she realises everyone doesn’t have the time and is offering parents a hand next week with a special back-to-school breakfast at her family’s restaurant Island Cuisine.

From Monday to Friday, children will be able to fuel up on scrambled eggs, bacon and toast or a steamy bowl of oatmeal with a half slice of banana, for $3.50.

The young mom hopes it will ease up the strain on families during the hectic first week of school, while also being kind on parents’ wallets.

“We want children to come in and have a good time,” she explained. “Whenever I take Noah out for breakfast it’s an outing. He enjoys it.

“When I was growing up, the first day of school was always something to be excited about. You would have your hair done and have on a new backpack or new shoes. So we want to help young people feel good for the first week of school and try to ease the parents up as well.”

When it comes to meal times, she recommends families with young children think outside the box to make eating more enjoyable.

With Noah, she tries to prepare finger foods like carrot sticks or fruit. They allow Noah to get hands-on with his meal and also free her up to eat right alongside.

Because her son loves oatmeal, Miss Tucker will add strawberries, blueberries or coconut to the nutritious dish.

Her son’s reaction to her creations is what makes it all worthwhile.

“He loves it and goes ‘Ooooo’,” she said. “And I love it because I feel like I’m doing my job by being a good mom. I just love his positive reaction to things, which makes the effort feel appreciated when I know he enjoys what I’m doing for him.”

She also tries to disguise different foods in things Noah likes. For instance, he enjoys eating rice, so she will occasionally chop up carrots to add to it.

“He also helps me to cook so I get him involved in things. We smell spices and name different colours of veggies and fruits. I’m a foodie, so is my mom and my entire family really, so I try to find ways to pass down the love for ingredients and food to my son also.

“It’s also a great learning tool for colours, textures etc too!”