If my kids don’t like something, I simply tell them: “That’s fine, you’ll like it when you grow up.” I believe it, and I think they believe me! We’ve been working hard over the years at encouraging consistency (so that she eats the things she has already tried and liked), and adventurousness with new foods (still sometimes a challenge, but a lot better than it used to be). The kids soon adapt - and everyone is happier as a result.Ĭan a child be both picky and fussy? Yes, they can! This was the case with our older daughter. Above all, no short order cooking! At lunch (at the school cafeteria) and at home, only one menu is on offer. Being firm and consistent avoids these power struggles. The French don’t tolerate kids’ fussiness about food–which often arises because kids are testing limits, and turning food into a power struggle.
But now (and especially with my older daughter) I’m firm: if they’ve liked it in the past, they have to eat it now. Inconsistency is apparently a consistent pattern in toddler behavior, so when my children were younger I let it slide. This sometimes happens with my younger daughter, who ‘likes’ her breakfast oatmeal one day but then (frustratingly) won’t touch it the next. (This works for French kids too check out the amazing French Kids School Lunch menus from schools all over France).įussy eaters, on the other hand, will reject foods that they like one day, but then happily eat them the next. So we say to our kids: “You don’t have to like it, you just have to taste it.” This method has worked for lots of foods (broccoli, beets, salad, cauliflower, lentils) which our kids now happily eat. Note: this doesn’t mean forcing a child to eat, but rather gently, calmly encouraging them to taste something. Researchers have found that tasting foods repeatedly (anywhere from 7 to 15 times) will usually result in acceptance of a new food. Gently encouraging children to continue trying new foods is the key. But the good news is that this is usually a temporary phase. This can result in children eating a limited variety of foods. Children with neophobia often reject many ‘new’ foods. They probably have a degree of what scientists call “food neophobia”, which is generally defined as the reluctance to eat, or even sample, new foods. Picky eaters are very selective about what they eat. One helpful insight I learned in France is the difference between a ‘picky eater’ and a ‘fussy eater’. I spent a lot of time trying to get my children to eat better, and wondering how much of their resistance to new foods was due to power struggles (and therefore negotiable) versus a real resistance to/difficulty in eating new foods (much less negotiable). Often, children refuse to eat specific groups of foods (like vegetables, or fruits), resulting in worried parents and stressful mealtimes. Many parents report difficulty in feeding their children at some stage.
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