For the majority of the population, trying a new food comes easily since it is perceived as exciting and pleasurable.
And for a minority of the population, just the thought of trying a new food is overwhelming, let alone going through the entire experience in front of eager parents. These children often dislike new foods initially and do not view the experience as anything close to pleasurable.
For these kids, the moment they hear “Do you want a bite of this?”, they freeze in fear and immediately respond with “No, thank you.”
They have absolutely no desire to place a strange food in their mouth, not enjoy it, and then disappoint their parents in the process. To be honest, I don’t blame them. The problem though is the more the parents ask, the quicker the children are to say no, and the more eager the parents are to try again.
It’s a never ending cycle that leads to more strict eating habits.
So how do we stop the cycle?
Simply, we stop saying “Do you want a bite of this?”
It implies that the only option is to eat the new food and this is too much for a picky eater to handle.
Based on the SOS Sensory Approach to Feeding, children with sensory aversions to food need time to explore unfamiliar foods before accepting the food as edible. These children often need more than 10 positive interactions with an unfamiliar food to even begin to accept into their possible new food list.
If you find your child is quick to saying “No” to new foods try these conversation starters instead to help your child explore new foods without discarding the whole experience immediately.
Serving Food: Have your child assist with serving dishes such as scooping or carrying it to someone else.
Touching Food: Ask your child to touch the food with a fingertip or hand to initiate exploration.
Smelling Food: Ask you child to smell the new food. This will encourage the food closer to his or her face.
Lick Food: If your child tolerates all the previous steps, he or she may be ready to place the new food in their mouth. You can initiate this exploration by demonstrating licking off of a spoon or finger.
But what about manners? Mealtimes are for eating, not for playing. Most of us were raised this way and want to raise our own children to have good manners at the dinner table. If this rings true for you, then it will be important to create opportunities to play with food outside of specific meals, such as incorporating new foods during snack time or cooking a meal together.
Food exploration can be fun and facilitate great bonding between parents and their children. It’s a time for you to be silly and relaxed. The more open and relaxed a parent is about trying new foods, the more likely the child will feel open to explore new foods.
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