Chicken nuggets, again? Do you ever feel like your child is eating the same foods for every meal?
You’re not alone in your efforts to expand your child’s dietary habits. Young children are naturally neophobic — afraid of trying anything new or foreign — when it comes to food. That means toddlers and kindergartners will resist new foods while maintaining a few favorite foods. So don’t be too worried. Because this is a natural part of a child’s development, parents can relax a bit when it comes to their child’s diet and be assured that picky eaters will typically “grow out of it.”
So what can you do in the meantime? It’s important for children to make decisions about what to eat. But parents have the responsibility to provide healthy options and encourage healthy eating habits. Although mealtime can be a frustrating experience for everyone, here are some tips for getting your little one to expand their horizons beyond grapes and French fries.
- The sooner the better. Early exposure to a variety of healthy foods will help influence your child’s food preferences throughout childhood. Try to keep options on hand, rather than resorting to the same menu items meal after meal.
- Don’t give up! When parents get discouraged, they may stop trying to give new foods. But research shows that children often learn to eat new foods after having multiple opportunities to try. Offer new choices often in positive, supportive ways.
- Like mother, like child. A recent study linked toddlers’ food preferences to those of their mothers, including likes, dislikes and indifferences. Who knows? Maybe this is a chance for parents and children to try something new!
- All the time vs. some of the time. Help children make the distinction between healthy “all the time” foods such as grains, fruits, veggies and proteins, compared with “sometimes” foods such as candies, desserts and treats.
- Turn mealtime into fun-time! The dinner table doesn’t need to be a circus, but you can make trying new foods as much fun as going to one! Offer foods with funny names for your child to pronounce such as zucchini, pomegranate, jicama and bok choy. Point out these silly names at the grocery store. Have a crunch test to determine the crunchiest food. Is the winner a carrot or apple? Allow your child to help in preparing a fruit salad, discussing the colors they see while adding different foods to the bowl.
And last of all, be creative! The more fun and excitement you bring to table, the more (healthy food) they’ll take away from it.