FSB Author Article
Why Toddlers Don't Eat Vegetables
By Dina R. Rose
No one does it deliberately, "Hey, we've got to stop this
veggie-eating thing. It's time to make sure Lucy loathes lima
beans."
But most parents don't actively help their children cultivate a
taste for vegetables. In fact, they teach their kids to prefer
other
kinds of flavors instead.
Here's some counterintuitive advice: Don't worry so much about
vegetables. Pay attention to all the other foods you regularly
feed
your kids because therein lies the answer to veggie eating.
Instead of trying to get nutrients into your children, think
about shaping their taste buds.
A recent study shows that when children favor foods that are
high
in sugar, fat, and salt they typically don't like natural flavored
foods. Foods like vegetables.
Sadly, most "Child-Friendly" foods are high in sugar, salt and
fat.
This is true of sweetened yogurt, apple juice, Goldfish crackers,
pizza, cheese and the list goes on.
From a nutrition perspective, these foods barely pass the
parental
"sniff-test."
From a habits perspective, they're a disaster. If you give your
children a lot of sweet, salty, and high fat foods throughout the
day
then these are the flavors their taste buds will come to expect.
When it comes to feeding kids, most parents think of
themselves
as Nutrient-Providers and Detectives.
And this is how most parents get into trouble.
Nutrient-Providers
and Detectives look for foods that meet two criteria: they deliver
the
nutritional goods (at least minimally) and their kids will like
them.
This approach ends up restricting rather than expanding, your
kids'
palates because it encourages you to feed your children foods that
have
the same taste and texture.
You need to think of yourself as a taste-bud shaper instead.
Taste-bud shapers recognize that every bite of food
influences
their children's taste preferences.
It's just not the number of times your kids eat peas that
determines whether or not they like peas.
What matters is the range of flavors your kids are exposed
to
throughout the day, and how those flavors compare to peas.
If you don't consciously shape your kids' taste buds to like
vegetables you'll end up teaching them to dislike vegetables
instead.
Don't believe me? Chart all the foods your kids eat for a couple
of
days, noting whether they are sweet, salty or full of fat. Go
ahead. I
dare you!
Then, start training your kids' taste buds in the right
direction
by:
- Gradually wean your kids away from sugar, salt and fat.
- Temporarily add sugar, salt or fat to veggies so they taste more like the other stuff.
- Shift your children's daily diet towards more fresh, natural foods.
- Use "Child-Friendly" Foods as occasional treats.
Source: Cornwell, T. B. and A. R. McAlister. 2011.
"Alternative Thinking About Starting Points in Obesity.
Development of
Child Taste Preferences." Appetite 56: 428-39.
-- Changing the conversation from nutrition to habits
© 2011 Dina R. Rose author of the popular blog It's Not About Nutrition
Author Bio
Dina R. Rose is the author of the popular blog It's Not
About Nutrition. She
has a PhD in sociology from Duke University and more than fifteen
years' experience in teaching and research. After her mother's
premature death from obesity-related illnesses at the age of 65,
Dina
knew she wanted to give her daughter a better -- and happier
--
food-life.
Dina made helping parents solve their kids' eating problems her life
work. Most parents know what their children should eat, but have
trouble putting this knowledge into practice. Dina offers parents
the
relief they need: practical, research-based strategies so they can
stop
struggling and start succeeding.
For more information please visit It'sNotAboutNutrition.com
and follow the author on Facebook
and Twitter