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I went to lunch this weekend with one of my friends and all children. I ordered my diner usual for the kids- grilled cheese sandwiches made without any butter, oil, or mayo and sliced cucumber instead of fries. My girlfriend laughed at me, claiming that her son (18 months old)would never go for that. She ordered him chicken fingers and fries. The food came and initially my children said, "Mommy, why can't we have fries?" and I said, "Because they aren't healthy". They accepted that and began to eat their lunch. At some point, my friend's son reached his hand into my daughter's plate and grabbed a cucumber. I watched him munch happily on the crisp vegetable. To prove my point, I ordered another side of cucumber and placed it in front of him. To his mother's surprise, he began to eat the cucumber, only occasionally stopping for some fries. I explained to my friend that children will eat the veggies if they are offered to them- especially if you start at a young age. She has now vowed to order cucumber instead of fries. I think the lesson here is that you shouldn't just assume that your child "won't" eat something. Try- and keep trying. Always offer healthy choices to your kids. You will be surprised how often they will eat them.
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7 comments:
My 5 year old daughter loves to eat 'trees'.
We made it fun, we made it an adventure, and she was sold. By the way, trees are broccoli. =)
Very true, kids will eat what ever you give them, but in many cases their taste in food begins to change and they start to form their own opinion on what they like and dislike as they get older. But its still good to teach them how to eat healthy, the younger the better.
So true! My parents never kept all that much junk food in my house and so I never really developed a taste for constant candy and chips and stuff. We (my brothers and I) used to have fruit and raw veggies all the time as snacks and we loved it. That's not to say I never have any "junk food" as an adult now, but I certainly prefer healthier snacks most of the time.
Dan- I agree that children will develop their own food preferences as they grow older, but these preferences will be based on their past food experiences. It often takes children 10 - 15 experiences with the same new food before they will learn to like it. We are born liking fatty foods but have to be taught to like healthy foods.
If a child has been exposed to a healthy food (for example, broccoli) many times in the past, he/she will possibly develop a taste for it and will continue eating broccoli as he/she get older. However, if that child has not been exposed to broccoli often enough to develop a liking for it, it is unlikely that older child will give the broccoli a chance on his/her own. The opportunity for that child to like broccoli will have been lost. It is important that we expose our children to as many healthy foods as possible while we are still "in control". And we can't give up too early. If a child doesn't like a certain vegetable, wait a week or so and try again. Institute the "two bite rule"... your child must eat two bites each time a healthy food is served but does not have to finish the portion if he/she doesn't want to.
It is our job as parents to teach our children to like healthy foods.
Devin-
Your parents did a great job! By consistently exposing you to fruits and vegetables, they were able to cultivate a life long love of healthy foods. It is unlikely that you loved all of the fruits and vegetables you were served the first time you tried them- but by persevering, your parents taught you to enjoy those foods.
I agree totally with this as well. My children will eat brussel sprouts, spinach... Nearly any vegetable. The reason, from the time they were babies it was put in front of them. In fact the first table food my daughter ever ate was a green bean.
I do have one question though. Why is it that we are BORN liking fatty foods, and have to be taught to like the healthy stuff. (as you said in your comment to Dan)
Angel@ 1smartmom.com
Angel-
Thank you so much for your question. We are born with five different types of taste receptors: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (glutamic acid- a natural substance found in different foods, such as asparagus, cheese, meat, and potatoes). An infant is born with a preference for sweet tastes, likely because breast milk is inherently sweet. In terms of evolution, those who preferred sweet tastes (and therefore drank more breast milk) were more likely to survive and procreate. A newborn will relax his/her face and suck when exposed to sweet tastes and will grimace when exposed to sour or bitter tastes. Interestingly, the ability to taste salt does not develop until a newborn is between 4 and 6 months old.
Pleasure associated with food is also innate and is regulated by the pleasure center of the brain, known as the nucleus accumbens. Imaging studies show that many areas of the brain "light up" when a person is around appetizing (high calorie, high fat) food. It is believed that the same brain receptors that cause pleasure with drugs (opioid receptors) also modulate pleasure associated with food. These pathways are activated when a person is around delicious foods.
Have you heard of "comfort" foods? When a person is stressed, the body releases cortisol (aka the stress hormone). Cortisol causes a person to seek out sweet and fattening foods. This is why someone may turn to ice cream when they are distressed. It is a biological phenomenon- but that doesn't mean we should give in to these cravings!
The body is so complex and interesting. Let me know if you have more questions!
Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.
www.thelighterweigh.com
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