“I don’t think you are going to like it.” she tells her toddler as they walk through the store and stop at the sample station.
The woman working behind the sample counter makes an effort to save the situation.
“If you try it and don’t like it you can always spit it out, but you won’t know if you like it unless you try it.”
“Would you like to try it?” asks his mom.
Problem is at this point everyone knows what the answer is going to be.
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The toddler peeks out from behind her leg, looks at the sample lady and back at mom and quietly shakes his head from side to side and quickly looks back at the floor.
This scene plays out day in and day out at any grocery store that offers samples. I cringe every time I see it. I believe that the key to healthy habits as adults is a child that embraces a variety of real foods.
Early in the book, First Bite: How We Learn to Eat by Bee Wilson, she talks about the role nurture and social situations play in the food we eat. The gist being that if kids were given a variety of new foods and no one in the room they would make their own decisions about what they like and don’t like.
That isn’t how dinners and introductions to most foods work in the real world. We instead put new foods in front of kids and give them our opinion of that food or someone at the dinner table does. In the case of the mother above we implant what we think the child’s reaction will be before they even have a chance to try it and decide for themselves. Then we wonder why we have picky eaters and what to do about them.
Forcing foods on kids and telling them they have to eat them can have an adverse effect as well. When your parent made you clean your plate and eat all your spinach, did you grow up hating spinach because of that memory? Also, turning up our nose to foods we want them to eat will never encourage them to try new foods or develop healthy habits either. The biggest factor in teaching kids how to eat is the example you set. Kids do not innately hate vegetables. That is a learned response from parents. Largely parents in countries with a western diet, like the United States.
Cooking and sharing meals together can be a great way to set a good example and encourage kids to create good eating habits and to be adventurous about trying new foods. Here are 10 ways to help foster brave eaters and avoid picky eaters.
10 Ideas to avoid creating picky eaters
Start young
Studies show that your diet while pregnant can carry over to a child’s taste preferences. What you eat while breastfeeding will also have an impact. If you can’t breastfeed, even the type of formula you use will impact their tendencies. Other studies show that introducing foods as early at 4 months can impact a child’s eating habits. You will likely have to introduce a food a couple of times, but don’t give up just because your little one didn’t like avocado the first time it doesn’t mean they hate that food.
Let the kids pick out new foods
As you wander through the grocery store your kids will likely ask about new products. You might even be surprised that it happens more in produce than other sections. Let them pick out a new food and then go home and pick out a new recipe to try, maybe even one you can cook together. You will both learn about new foods and since preferences can change over our lifetime so you might find you like broccoli if you are just willing to try.
Present new foods as an adventure
Kids don’t inherently know they will like Disneyland, the zoo or the beach, but you approach those adventures in such a way that they know there is something special and fun about the experience. Doing the same thing with new foods can prove to have a similar effect. Make it a special occasion once a week or even just once a month.
Hide your feelings
Starting with, “I don’t like brussels sprouts, but maybe you will” or “Wow, you like broccoli, most kids don’t like broccoli” will likely hurt your cause. Statements like this have as much impact on what kids are willing to eat as does that taste in their mouth. They don’t want to be the weird kid and they really want to be like you, their role model. If you can leave these opinions and not bring them to the table you will have more success with new foods.
Start with small pieces
A pile of broccoli might be too much for the first time. Start by offering your toddler small bites. Over the course of a few meals increase the size of the bites. Even better do this outside of meal times as picky eaters can find the table stressful. If they really like it they will ask for larger portions at future meals. This can help texture adverse kids try new foods. Small bites might night have that same texture, as they develop a taste for it the texture may eventually be a non-issue.
Praise them for being brave and trying new things
Even if they didn’t like what they tried, reinforce the behavior of trying new things with praise. Kids want to please you. While forcing them to eat isn’t going to work, and trying new foods might not either, giving praise for being brave and willing could make them more willing to try something new next time.
Avoid letting them dictate what is for dinner
You need to be in control of the options. If your child knows that you will feed them whatever they want the likelihood of them eating what you put in front of them will be greatly diminished. Make meals with a few things they like and one new thing you like that you want them to try. They won’t go hungry and you can ask that they take just a bite. They don’t have to eat it all, but at least try it.
Skip the kids menu
The kids menu is riddled with sweet tasting pastas, breads, hot dogs and hamburgers. That menu just reinforces their desire for sweet treats. There are plenty of options on the adult menu for them to eat. Many restaurants even have smaller portions and some may be willing to make a smaller portion even if it isn’t a noted option on the menu.
Pick your battles
Yes eating off the adult menu may create more waste. If food waste is important to you, as it is to me, then this idea can seem daunting. Same goes for making food that they decide not to eat or try, but for the early stages, you are working on creating a good taste palate and a willingness to try new things. Teach food waste in a few years. Your kids will not eat their food because you tell then there are kids starving in Africa. Gratitude doesn’t create healthy habits, a well-rounded palate does.
Serve a small dessert with the meal
Dessert is a tricky little beast. It is often used as a treat, that dangling carrot if you just finish the foods that are good for you. While it might get the short-term results you want, veggies in their tummies, this doesn’t create the healthy habits you intend. It just says that if you do the thing you hate you get the thing you love. They may start with dessert, but will likely be hungry enough to continue with the rest of the meal.
Not all of these ideas will work for every family or every kid in the same family. Each child is unique and what motivates them will be different. Try new ideas and new foods to see what works. The key here is to keep them trying new foods. The more times they have a food the more likely they are to develop a liking for that food.
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