5 Picky Eating Habits – and How to Aid Your Child Overcome Them

Have you ever negotiated with a pint-sized dictator about eating a single pea? You’re not alone. Almost half of the children go through a period of picky eating that usually peaks around age three.

Our hunter-gatherer ancestors developed a natural aversion to unfamiliar foods and bitter tastes to avoid taking in toxins. They also learned to look for and store certain types high-energy, tasty dishes to avoid hunger during times of food shortage.

But the food we eat from an early age shapes our food preferences for life and diet. So what can you do if your child doesn’t want to eat familiar or modern foods or wants to restrict their diet?

Here are the five most common types of picky eating and how to overcome them.

1. Eating only beige or white foods

When it comes to picky eating, beige and white foods tend to reign supreme. That’s because these foods are:

• known – they have the color of mother’s milk and are food products that we usually exploit when introducing solid foods, e.g. baby porridge

• mild or with a mild taste – they do not overwhelm the little ones who have Over 30,000 taste buds (compared to over 10,000 adults)

• simple – they are often pliable and simple to chew, which makes them attractive to toddlers developing chewing skills

• harmless – are the opposite of what our hunter-gatherer ancestors taught us to avoid: the brightly colored – and toxic – foods found in the wild.

While you may be tempted to skip eating chicken nuggets at every meal, a diet consisting exclusively of beige and white foods is likely to be highly processed and low in dietary fiber. This may cause constipation. and depletion of healthy gut bacteria.

A beige and white diet can also cause a deficiency of vitamins and minerals necessary for hearty development and growth, including vitamins B and C and iron.

To enrich your child’s diet with healthier and more colorful food options:

• mix things up. Combine less hearty beige and white foods with healthier ones, like mixing cannellini beans and cauliflower into mashed potatoes

• make hearty swaps. Gradually replace your favorite white bread, pasta, and rice with whole grain versions; for example, mix brown rice with a serving of white

• Utilize familiarity to your advantage. Introduce colorful food options alongside the familiar beige and white, such as offering fruit to dip in yogurt or a hearty red or green sauce for pasta.

2. Refusing anything but milk

It’s no wonder babies love milk. It’s been a constant in their lives since birth. And it’s associated with more than just satisfying hunger – it’s there when they’re tired and about to go to sleep, when they’re nervous and need comfort, and when they’re enjoying the company of mom or dad.

It also contains lactose, a sugar found naturally in milk, which is why it tastes sweet and stimulates the human hunter-gatherer instinct to seek out foods high in natural sugar to avoid hunger.

Although dairy foods provide necessary calcium for adolescent children, they must be part of a balanced diet. Australian Dietary Guidelines We recommend that children consume 1–1½ servings of milk (1 glass = 1 serving), yogurt (200 g = 1 serving) and cheese (2 slices = 1 serving) (or substitutes) per day.

If your baby drinks too much milk, there is a risk iron deficiencybecause milk is a needy source of iron and makes it challenging for the body to absorb it.

To wean your baby off milk, try:

• fact-finding. When your child asks for milk, ask questions to understand what he really wants. Is he hungry, thirsty, or wants comfort? Offer that instead

• first eat solids. Tempt your toddler with hearty and interesting-looking foods, and offer milk only after eating something solid

• smaller portions. Switch to serving milk in a smaller cup.

3. Avoid foods with the consistency

Refusal to eat lumpy, chewy, or strangely textured foods is common in adolescent children who are developing sensory and oral motor skills.

It is also common for parents to continue to blend these foods because trying foods of different consistencies is often accompanied by a gag reflex.

To facilitate your baby transition to foods of different textures and make sure they develop the muscles necessary to eat safely:

• slowly raise the consistency. Start with a food your child likes, such as blended carrots, and gradually blend for shorter periods to keep the lumps

• stay serene if your baby is choking. Let him know it’s okay, and give them time to deal with it themselves. After coughing up, encourage your child to try another spoonful or try again next time.

4. Refusal to eat vegetables

The consistency, brightness and bitter taste of some vegetables may be repulsive for some children.

However, vegetables are a good source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber that adolescent children need.

To overcome your child’s aversion to vegetables, get imaginative. Food appearance affects our perception of its taste, so make vegetables more attractive by arranging them in a fun way on your plate.

Get imaginative by incorporating veggies in modern ways, like grating carrots or kale into muffins or using a spiralizer to make zucchini noodles.

Focus on offering sweeter vegetables, such as peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes, and roast them to bring out their natural sweetness. Children are more likely to reach for sweeter vegetables than bitter ones, such as broccoli.

5. Refusal to eat meat

Meat contains protein and iron, but many adolescent children refuse to eat it because of its challenging, rubbery consistency and intense taste.

If you want your child to achieve daily protein intake (for example 80 g of cooked chicken or 65 g of cooked lean beef) but you consider it a challenge:

• start miniature. Offer leaner, lighter-tasting meats in miniature portions that are simple to chew, such as ground chicken or slow-cooked meats

• Involve your child in meal preparation. Ask them to choose the meat for dinner and ask them to facilitate prepare it.

There are also alternatives you can offer as you work to overcome your aversion to meat. Eggs, tofu, beans, lentils, and fish are also high in protein.

Problems with chewing and swallowing and food aversions may be a symptom of underlying health conditions, so consult your GP or child and family health nurse if your child’s picky eating behaviour continues beyond infancy or preschool.