Typically, food selectivity peaks 2-3 years of age, but may persist later. There are several possible causes for this phenomenon.
Fear of trying unfamiliar foods
This condition is also called food neophobia. Most often, children refuse vegetables, fruits and protein products.
The reason may be the way different tastes are perceived, and this feature the taste more vividly and refuse these products at the mere sight.
Neophobia is also by the social environment. Family or peers can encourage or, on the contrary, hinder the choice of certain dishes through communication. A child may refuse some products due to a previous negative experience. For example, after eating there was nausea or vomiting . As a result – to try this product in the future, even if the cause of the reaction was actually an illness.
Neophobia in childhood goes away on its own as the child grows up, if he has the conditions for this: an example and new products.
This is a trap that parents often fall into. For example, a child refuses to eat fish — and the parents stop offering it. It turns into a vicious circle: the parents don’t offer it because “he doesn’t eat it,” and the child doesn’t try it because there is no such opportunity, since they don’t offer it. Children can also refuse food because their appetite changes depending on the growth phase. And food selectivity can be part of growing independence — food autonomy.
A teenager can also continue to be a picky eater: not like to try new things, refuse some products. And this is normal, we are all different. It is important that his needs for energy, vitamins and microelements are met and the diet is sufficiently varied. There are studies that food neophobia is not always a permanent personality trait. The degree of its manifestation can be if you continue to introduce children to new products.
Avoidance of some new foods may . Bitter tastes and strong smells are often found in poisonous and spoiled foods. Therefore, avoiding such foods potentially protected against poisoning.
Ekaterina Fedorova also points out that the baby food industry is built around sweet tastes. Children to eat foods that are more familiar to them, so they can refuse “too new tastes” and choose what they are already familiar with. For example, something .
An example of a family
It is widely believed that parents influence the formation of eating behavior in children by setting their own example. This is probably true, but the conclusions of scientists differ.
A meta-analysis of 24 studies on small samples that the connection between what parents eat and what their children choose is weak. The authors concluded that parents’ eating habits are not the only or main factor that influences children’s behavior at the table.
In another study, scientists, on the contrary, point out that parents a major role in children’s eating behavior. Moreover, mothers play a greater role than fathers. If you offer your child products with different tastes and aromas from an early age, this will help form healthy eating habits in the future.
Lifestyle
The authors of one study the relationship between picky eating in children and their diet, physical activity, screen time, and sleep habits, as well as parental preferences. The study involved 913 volunteers — children and parental pairs.
Scientists noticed that children were more likely to be picky eaters if:
- were physically active less than an hour a day;
- spent more than two hours a day in front of a screen;
- slept less than nine hours;
- ate in front of the TV and munched on sweet and salty snacks.
Is it normal for children to eat the same foods?
Adults often note that children choose high-carbohydrate foods. And there is an explanation for this.
Growing and active children require a lot of energy, which means more carbohydrates in their diet than other nutrients. For example, according to the UK dietary , a child aged 1-4 years should have five portions of grain products, while adults need three to four portions.
It is not only the quantity of carbohydrate food that plays a role, but also its quality, because a child needs food rich in minerals and vitamins. Industrially processed products – chips, cookies – are not suitable.
There are studies that have found that children with food neophobia are more likely to choose snacks and sweets, but less vegetables and legumes.
Food selectivity in children aged 2-5 years common. According to Ekaterina, less than 20-30 products in the diet that remain unchanged for a long time is a reason to contact a specialist: a pediatrician , a psychologist, a nutritionist, to selective-restrictive eating disorder.
It is also important to ensure that restrictions are not based on cultural or religious beliefs or medical reasons.
It happens that a child refuses familiar products. For example, he always ate an omelet and suddenly stopped, but a new product comes in its place: porridge, cottage cheese or a soft-boiled egg – this is normal. Therefore, you need to look at the trend: is there a slight expansion of the diet, how is the child growing and is he gaining weight.
It is important that the child eats at least four to five products from each food group: grains, meat, eggs, fish, dairy products or their substitutes, fruits and vegetables. Although somewhere that if the total number of products in the diet is less than 30, this is already food selectivity.
You should be wary if the number of products in the diet decreases and new ones do not replace them. You should also be concerned if a food group is completely excluded from the diet and this situation remains unchanged, even despite attempts to expand the diet. Severe stress associated with food intake or extreme sensitivity to textures, smells and colors of food may indicate sensory disorders in the child, that is, difficulties in processing information from the senses.
It is better not to let such conditions take their course and to consult a nutritionist. Early adjustment of eating behavior will help to avoid problems.
Monotonous diet with deficiency of vitamins and microelements. Because of it children become irritable, slow, get tired quickly and grow worse.
How to diversify your child’s diet
Nutritionists that you need to offer a new food to a child 12-17 times before they want to eat it. Don’t lie, bribe, or force them to try new foods. Instead, describe the taste, texture, and temperature of the food to help children get used to new foods.
It is worth monitoring not what children eat during one day, but the situation during the week and keeping a food diary . This makes it easier the completeness of the diet.
I like to draw parallels with preparing a child for kindergarten or school. We talk about what children do there, read books about it, play kindergarten, show it through the fence, talk about our experiences.
It’s a similar story with food. If you want your child to start trying, try it yourself, set an example, continue to regularly offer new products in different forms without pressure. Study cookbooks, invite your child to cook food together, go shopping, don’t forbid them to show initiative, even if it seems strange.
There is an experiment that showed that looking at pictures and reading stories about vegetables their consumption. The more a child eats different products from one food group, the it will be for him to eat other products from the same group.
I would advise never to stop offering new products and not to be tied to deadlines. Success depends on how to attract the child and what mood he is in, so if it doesn’t work today, it will work tomorrow. At some point, the child will be ready to try a new product, and it is important for us not to miss this.
Here’s what else to add new foods to your child’s diet:
- Gather together at the table. The child will be able to copy the behavior of the parents and enjoy food as they do.
- Make eating a pleasant procedure. Talk at the table and discuss interesting events in life so that food evokes good associations in the child.
- Praise. Celebrate your child’s successes, even if he ate just a little bit of a new product.
- Invite guests. If there is a child of the same age who eats well, you can arrange for them to eat together. Children like to imitate each other.
- Change the way you serve food, try different cutting options. Perhaps the child does not like boiled vegetables, but wants to eat them raw. Or he is not attracted to just fruits , but he will happily eat a fruit salad.