By Sarah Hanratty – Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
Toddlers often go through a phase where they prefer bland, beige foods and refuse stronger tasting foods like vegetables. One theory is that this preference is an evolutionary adaptation. One which leads them to choose foods that they consider to be ‘safe’. They are suspicious about new foods or those that look different. The larger energy requirements of a growing toddler also drives their preference for sweet and starchy foods.
Young children tend to have double the amount of taste buds that adults have. This leads to intense experiences with food. Foods with strong or bitter tastes may be unpleasant or overpowering for them. This in turn, leads them to opt for bland tasting foods.
Around 25% of the population are ‘supertasters’. Supertasters have more taste buds and they seem to be stronger too. This can really amplify bitter tasting foods; think broccoli, spinach and Brussel sprouts. Supertasters are most likely to reject foods with a strong taste and are susceptible to becoming fussy eaters.
There are some children who don’t have finely tuned taste buds. For these children food texture and appearance is important. In this case, children may prefer stronger tastes and dislike bland tasting foods. Bland tasting foods can have an odd texture in their mouths – think lumpy mashed potato or perhaps rice. These children are more likely to judge a food by its appearance and may even sniff their food before eating it.
It’s not unusual to see preferences for specific textures with fussy eaters. Look for patterns in your child’s food choices – they might prefer crunchy foods and dislike mixed textures such as vegetables within sauces. If you can identify these patterns you can use food chaining to introduce new foods.
There are other issues that can affect appetite and eating in young children. If your child’s fussy eating is accompanied by stomach aches, constipation or loose bowel movements this could point to possible issues with digestion or food intolerances that may need further investigation. If you are concerned about your child’s weight or growth you should speak with your GP.
Here are four strategies to consider when encouraging your child to eat a wider variety of foods:
1. Exposure.
It’s important for your child to experience the foods you want them to try. Place them on the table, have them help prepare the food and model behaviour by eating the foods yourself. Research suggests that children need to be exposed to a food up to 15 times before they accept it. Frustratingly, fussy eaters may require more than this. The key is to keep exposing your child to these foods, without pressure to eat them; simply seeing and/or touching the foods is enough.
2. Offer similar, but different foods.
If your child only likes one type or brand of bread then gently push their boundaries by buying a similar but different brand. If they will eat carrots, offer them carrots in different shapes, sizes and cooked differently. Experiment with different brands, shapes and textures within their food comfort zone. This is called food chaining. Food chaining identifies which specific flavours and/or textures your child likes and then offers something similar but slightly different. For example, if you child likes a specific cereal, try offering another with a similar texture but slightly different taste. If your child likes yogurt, offer different flavours and textures and if your child eats sweetcorn, try peas.
3. Choice.
Offer your child a choice of vegetables to have with their meals. Consider placing a section of vegetables in bowls and allowing your child to choose which they would like to eat or try. This way your child can make their own choices within the boundaries of what you want them to eat. Continue to offer both favoured and less-favoured options alongside each other.
4. Relax.
As frustrating as it is when your child is has a limited diet, insisting a child eats disliked foods or making the dinner table a battleground can create a negative association with food. Be relaxed at the dinner table and don’t pressure a child to eat. Telling each other funny stories and making meal time fun can be really helpful for fussy eaters. Distraction from food and eating at the dinner table can lessen anxiety around food considerably.