Fussy eaters?

Here is some information from Legacy Health System regarding toddlers eating habits and facts.  I found it interesting, and a good reminder when dealing with my own kids:

During pregnancy, a fetus gulps amniotic fluid, which is flavored by the strongest flavors in his mother’s diet. If a baby is breastfed, he too enjoys the flavors of his mother’s meals through her milk. When he is ready to sample solids, he will be more receptive to these tastes, the flavors of his family’s and his culture’s dinner table. As toddlers, children continue to show an aversion to unfamiliar flavors.

Stir a pot

Include your child in your dinner preparations, even if it is doing something as simple as stirring the contents of a pot for you. Children love to see the process of cooking a meal and will learn to help happily if you begin as early as possible. With your help, a child this age can mix ingredients using a wooden spoon. Watching a meal come together makes the food they will see on their plates more familiar and increases the chance that they will try it.

Sharing food

Young children tend to reject new foods the first time they are served them. This “neophobia” is a protective behavior, a sensible instinct to protect themselves from unknown dangers. Researchers studying the development of children’s food preferences have shown that the more often a certain food is served to children, the more likely they are to accept it. A new food must be offered to a child an average number of seven times before being accepted. Breastfed babies are more likely to accept new foods than formula-fed babies, perhaps because they are already accustomed to a variety of flavors.

If mealtime is pleasant and relaxing, a time to be with you as much as a time to eat, your child is more likely to feel happy and positive about food. Avoid pressuring your child to eat or letting meals become a struggle of wills. Left to their own appetites, and served a healthy selection of fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats, most children will select the food they most need and in the quantity that satisfies them.

The key statement here is making meal time a time to be with you and a relaxing time, not a battle of wills time.  It’s easy as a parent to get impatient and take a hard stance with your kids, which just leads to resistance and eventual bad behavior.  Instead of setting them up to fail, be sure to make eating fun.  My wife and I often remind ourselves that our kids are not going to starve if they refuse to eat much at a meal or two.

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