Helping Picky Toddlers Accept New Foods with Patience and Love
Toddlers are known for their finicky eating habits. They are at a stage of life where they're testing boundaries and asserting their independence. This includes the food they eat. Repeatedly offering new foods and modeling healthy eating can help these tiny picky eaters adapt to new flavours, textures, and norms.
Why Are Children Picky Eaters?
Before we dive into strategies to help your toddler accept new foods, it is crucial to understand why toddlers are often fussy about what they eat.Childhood Food Neophobia
A common phase in toddler development is food neophobia, or the fear of new foods. This is perfectly normal and occurs due to toddlers being apprehensive and suspicious of new experiences. Remember, patience and love play an essential role in helping your child grow out of this phase.
Patiently Introducing New Foods to Your Picky Toddler
Repetitive exposure to new foods
One of the most effective methods of getting picky toddlers to accept new foods is through repetitive exposure. Usually, new foods are rejected by toddlers because of unfamiliar tastes or textures. However, with repeated exposure over time, these initial inhibitions can be overcome. Be patient, keep offering new foods without stressing or pressuring them.
Model Healthy Eating Habits
Children, including toddlers, are excellent imitators. They learn more from modelling behaviours than direct instruction. So, if you want to instil healthy eating habits in your child, you need to display them yourself. Show your toddler that you enjoy a range of foods to help them grasp the variety and joy of eating.
Stress-free, Creative Ways to Introduce New Foods
Make Mealtime Fun
Transform mealtime from a battlefield to playtime. You can do this by:
Introduce New Foods Alongside Favourites
Giving a new food along with their favourite can reduce the anxiety and resistance of your child towards the new food. This gradual introduction can help your toddler develop a taste for the new food over time.
Positive Reinforcement
Remember to give your child positive reinforcement when they try new foods. Celebrating their efforts and bravery will make them more open to trying other new foods in the future. This can be as simple as an encouraging word, a thumbs up, or a round of applause.
Be Patient and Take Baby Steps
In the journey to broaden your toddler’s food repertoire, patience is key. Don’t be disheartened by initial resistance. It may take several exposures for your toddler to become comfortable with a new food. Research suggests that it might take 10 or more exposures for a new food to be accepted by a toddler. So remember:
