Cover photo by Amina Filkins from Pexels
Written by Elisabeth Gray
My interest in childhood eating began during my freshman year of college sitting in a beginning level nutrition class. That interest has grown over the last few years as I’ve worked to teach my almost two-year-old girls how to eat and encouraged them to gain a taste for healthy foods. Breastfeeding was incredibly difficult for me, as it is for many, and my concern for proper feeding has not gone away. And now, instead of breastfeeding, I am faced with teaching them to eat solid foods, how to manipulate a spoon, and instilling in them a desire to make nutritious choices as they age. I am going to bet that I am not the only one who has ever had questions or concerns regarding how, when, and what to feed their child.
So….how do we teach our children to have a healthy relationship with food? Can we prevent picky eaters? Is my child getting the right nutrition to meet their bodies’ needs? Here I present a few tips I have gathered from my favorite nutrition professor, pediatricians, current research and my own experiences.
1. When beginning to offer solid food the main goal is to create a positive and enjoyable experience with your baby.
In early infancy all of the body’s nutritional needs are met with breast milk or formula, so we do not need to worry about how much food our infants consume, although we will see an increase in ounces of food consumed as the child gets closer to 12 months.
2. Children may need to be exposed to a food up to 15 times before developing a taste for a certain food.
I will never forget feeding my daughter peas for the first time and about five minutes later watching her throw them all up. Is she allergic? Is it a texture issue? Does she simply just not like them? These are all thoughts that ran through my head. If it is clear your child has a distaste for a specific food, or it causes vomiting episodes like above, many nutritionists and doctors suggest taking a break from the food and reintroducing it at a later time. I gave my girls scrambled eggs about 10 times before they started enjoying them instead of simply using them as projectile weapons. It was very frustrating and a lot of work, but now I can confidently say it was definitely worth it and I am happy my girls can now get protein from eggs. Just a personal tip, try mixing up the texture. My girls actually really liked hard boiled eggs right off the bat.
In an article published by the British Journal of Nutrition, we read interesting information regarding children’s taste for foods. “Food preferences develop from genetically determined predispositions to like sweet and salty flavours and to dislike bitter and sour tastes. There is evidence for existence of some innate, automatic mechanism that regulates appetite. However, from birth, genetic predispositions are modified by experience. There are mechanisms of taste development: mere exposure, medicine effect, flavour learning, flavour nutrient learning.” There is the possibility your child may never like brussel sprouts because genetics are in charge, however, I feel that as parents we sometimes have a tendency to say our children are picky eaters when the reality is we have not been putting enough effort in helping them explore the many different tastes and textures.
3. When your child is repeatedly asking for a certain food, say yes.
Caveat: this applies to foods under your established parameters of nutritious options! Many children have different tastes and will want meat, milk, a vegetable, etc. and will often ask for this item repeatedly, perhaps even as a snack. I like to think of this as their bodies telling them what they are lacking. Around 18 months one of my girls asked for bread during dinner time every night for a week and I gladly gave it to her knowing that she probably needed some extra calories. Even if your child is requesting the same food item over and over I do suggest offering it with other options so the child can see the variety of food available to them.
4. Offer a few healthy options you would be pleased with your child eating each meal.
Perhaps one meal I offer black beans, broccoli, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich all on the same plate. This allows me to give my girls options that I would be happy with them eating (giving me some control) while still allowing them to choose from the options (giving them some control). As to what those foods are and what you decide to offer your children, that is totally personal and up to you. My belief is moderation is all things, but I know many people who successfully feed their children on vegan, vegetarian, ketogenic, and paleo diets. The idea here is that you are in control and would be happy with what they choose from the choices you present, yet they have some personal freedom over their eating
5. Children are intuitive eaters and we need to trust their ability to know what their body needs.
As mentioned above, one important part of developing healthy eating habits is giving your children freedom to make choices, and whatever they decide to eat from their plate is up to them. When your child signals or tells you they are done…they are done. Many times my girls have told me they are done after only eating a few bites and I don’t worry, because I know they will make up the calories at another meal. Children typically eat two good meals a day- so don’t stress when they don’t want lunch one day. It is important to offer two regulated snacks throughout the day as well as children have a greater need to eat more frequently and the American Academy of Pediatrics Handbook recommends 3 main meals and 2 snacks in between meals.
6. Children are far more likely to accept new foods, and even eat foods they have been given many times, if family and friends are eating with them.
Unfortunately we can’t expect our children to be happy about eating broccoli while we are eating a doughnut. It just isn’t going to work. I try to eat as healthy as I can and almost always feed my girls whatever I am eating. In addition to eating with your child, sit them at the table or in their highchair every time they eat so they can associate eating time with sitting down in that manner. Snack times should typically occur in this place as well. Allowing our children to graze and eat at their own leisure leads to unhealthy snacking habits.
7. Whether or not a child can eat dessert should not be determined by how much dinner they eat.
CRAZY RIGHT?! The control that comes from “eat 4 more bites” or “no dessert until after dinner” creates unhealthy pressure for your child. Eating a dessert or treat should be an enjoyable activity for your child with no strings attached and should not be associated with good behavior. We will be far more likely to see an appropriate relationship with eating sweets if there isn’t unneeded control over eating them. The previously mentioned British Journal of Nutrition article also comments on this issue, saying, “Parents play a pivotal role in the development of their child’s food preferences and energy intake, with research indicating that certain child feeding practices, such as exerting excessive control over what and how much children eat, may contribute to children being overweight.”
I’m assuming your goal is like mine, to help your child create a healthy relationship with food as well as a desire to eat nutritious foods. Childhood body dysmorphic disorder rates are increasing and body image ideas related to eating is a concern for children at younger and younger ages. One way to combat this issue is to help create positive eating experiences throughout infancy and toddlerhood, offer healthy choices repeatedly, and do not put undue pressure on your child to eat a certain amount of food. The human body is incredibly designed and, especially during childhood years, is extremely efficient in self-regulating needs for nutrients. Helping our children to develop healthy relationships with food and eating can often be difficult and trying, but in the end we are teaching them skills and habits that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
***From a medical standpoint as a nurse with pediatric experience I want to add that there are extenuating circumstances and medical situations that will call for parents to regulate food intake for their child. The information I have already shared will be most effective with healthy children who are growing steadily.
References
American Academy of Pediatrics (2018). Infant Food and Feeding. Retrieved from https://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/HALF-Implementation-Guide/Age-Specific-Content/Pages/Infant-Food-and-Feeding.aspx
Scaglioni, S., Salvioni, M., & Galimberti, C. (2008). Influence of parental attitudes in the development of children eating behaviour. British Journal of Nutrition, 99(S1). doi:10.1017/s0007114508892471
Training toddlers’ taste buds. Retrieved from http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/training-toddlers-taste-buds. Accessed June 18, 2018.
Wadhera, D., Capaldi Phillips, E. D., & Wilkie, L. M. (2015). Teaching children to like and eat vegetables. Appetite, 93, 75–84. https://doi-org.erl.lib.byu.edu/10.1016/j.appet.2015.06.016
