Nutrition
Developing a positive body image and a healthy relationship with food: Give your kids a head start!
Read the article 29 June 2021
How kids develop their sense of taste
How kids develop their sense of taste
A question of survival
Why do your kids take to strawberries instantly but not green beans? It all comes down to survival! Babies develop their sense of taste in utero before moving on to breast milk and solid food. Because amniotic fluid and breast milk are on the sweeter side, babies develop an innate preference for this flavour. That’s why when you introduce babies to new foods, they’re more likely to be drawn to fruit and pasta than vegetables, which tend to be more bitter.
A multi-sensory discovery
Like any new object, babies discover new foods with all five senses. They’ll see the colour and shape of a pear, smell its pleasant aroma, feel its smooth texture with their fingers and bite into its soft flesh with their teeth before tasting its sweetness. They do the same thing with all foods at their own pace. Everything is new for them—they need to take time to get used to each food.
Your baby might not even touch a food you offer them for the first time. Maybe not the second or tenth time either! It can take more than 20 exposures before a child will try a new food. They might even spit it back out after tasting it, which is normal and part of discovery. The important thing is to be understanding and patient.
Ups and downs
Offer a variety of foods to your children from a young age. Take advantage of the window between 6 and 18 months, where most children are more receptive to new foods. By getting them used to many new foods, they’ll have a good foundation, which will be useful if they develop food neophobia—the fear of trying new food. This normal and passing phase commonly begins at age 2. During this time, your child may react negatively when you offer them a new food, or even a food they’ve eaten before. They might:
- Refuse to try it
- Make a face
- Spit it out
- They might push food around on their plate
- Play with their food
- Take fooooreeeeveeeer to finish their meal
Food neophobia passes with time. Don’t lose hope. Avoid coaxing them to eat and keep mealtimes positive. Here are a few tips to help your child on their journey to discover new foods:
Tips
- Children associate foods with the environment. Make sure that you’re eating in a calm and positive atmosphere. Introduce new foods when they’re in a good mood and well rested. Be enthusiastic about the new food. Eat it so that your child will imitate you and praise them for trying it.
- Stay enthusiastic even if your child doesn’t want to try a new food.It can take up to 20 exposures before they try it. Accept their refusal and try again later. The important thing is to keep exposing them to it so they get used to it.
- Offer one new food at a time, in small quantities, and pair it with something your child already eats. They’ll feel comfortable in familiar territory.
- Introduce new foods by stimulating the five senses.Give them the vocabulary to describe what they’re tasting and help them express what they’re feeling about their experience.
Written in collaboration with Gabrielle Proulx, nutritional intern.
