Toddlers are generally not included in family meals, raising fears that they are not taught to eat in a social situation.
The average age of the children whose parents were questioned was 15 months. Just over half of the parents said their child was a "fussy eater".
Blamed
However, only one in five parents blamed themselves in any way for their children's eating habits.
Karen Pasquali Jones, editor of Mother and Baby magazine, said: "The modern trend for toddlers to eat alone in front of the TV is a recipe for disaster.
"Toddlers need the experience of sitting up at the table - it not only encourages them to eat properly, it improves their speech and social skills and encourages them to try new foods."
She added: "The amount of junk food toddlers eat is horrifying. They are the nuggets and chips generation."
The survey also showed the breastfeeding message is not hitting home. Only two-thirds of mothers start off breastfeeding their babies and half of those stop within three months.
A spokeswoman for the British Nutrition Foundation said the findings of the survey into eating habits were in line with other research.
She said it was important that children ate a range of healthy foods and joined in family mealtimes.
"Sitting down to adult type food increases the child's experience, variety and quality of foods and provides an opportunity to have a more nutritious, balanced meal," the spokeswoman said.
"If all they ever see is bread-covered and silly shaped food, that is what they are learning. It resembles fast food and they could progress into a fast food style diet."
When you are feeling at the end of your tether with a fussy eater, take a deep breath, relax and remember this is a normal phase in which will resolve with time.
By being anxious you can often make the problem worse, particularly if you are expecting your toddler to eat more than she needs. If allowed to do so, toddlers will eat just enough calories for their own requirements, so you should always respect your toddler's decision that she has had enough to eat. You need to resist trying to persuade her to eat more. All this is of course, easier said than done. Remember that it is your responsibility to offer your toddler nutritious food but always allow her to choose how much she will eat.
