Everybody develops his or her own preferences, liking some foods and disliking others. Deciding which foods are disliked by your child should not however be taken on a hunch. Only somebody that knows different flavours can be open-minded to nutritional questions. That’s why parents should offer their children a wide variety of food from very early on.
Overcoming scepticism
As of the tenth month, many experts suggest to integrate the children into the family diet to some extent. This can mean drinking from the sippy cup, a small piece of bread, and of course mashed up food - maybe not in a little pot anymore but on the plate, ready for the first solo attempts. The receptiveness for new flavours also carries on developing. That’s why parents should continuously add to the variety of foods on the menu, to push the child’s culinary boundaries. Remember, that it’s not all about exotic fruits, but rather about breadth of easily accessible foods. Knowing a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, meats or fish automatically gives your more options in assuring that the diet remains balanced. From experience, it is known that children become particularly sceptical about their food at about 3 years of age. This however should not deter parents from sticking to their good principles. Fussy little eaters will just have to try more often. Many a prejudice will disappear by the third or fourth occasion. It is particularly useful if children don’t see sweet foods as the norm of tasty things, but rather learn early that plenty of foods have their own, particular appeal.
Tip: Remember that your child can only develop his sensitive pallet if you refrain from overly seasoning the food. Therefore, easy on the salt and pepper.