Do you remember the first time you ate an apple? Or a spoonful of yogurt? Chances are, you probably don’t. But the foods we’re exposed to in the Early Years have a much bigger impact than you might think.
Getting children to develop healthy eating habits is tough – especially when you’re experiencing fussy eating. It’s easy to get frustrated, but sensory cues are the key to getting children to develop healthy, happy and positive eating habits in later life.
How well foods go down isn’t a short journey, it begins from weaning up until around 3–4 years old when children start to decide what they love and what they loathe. That’s why it’s important to make the most of the first few years – once eating behaviours set in they follow us into adulthood.
Let’s take a look at why children reject foods, and the ways you can help them let go of the fear of the unknown and encourage inquisitive eating habits.
food rejection
It’s actually a myth that infants prefer certain foods – they have very few preferences and are keen to try new things. However, the environment and choice of food offered plays a huge role in children’s eating habits.
Meal times can be stressful. Children are often put under pressure when they eat too little or too much, and offered dessert as a reward. It’s natural to get frustrated when children won’t eat new foods, but your reaction to their rejection is vital. If children sense your frustration, this pressure alone can be very overwhelming.
Before we dive into the reasons why children reject foods and the reasons behind it, it’s worth keeping the two points below in mind:
Make sure that you have a calm and relaxed eating environment. Try not to be rushed or stressed. If children are relaxed and focused on the food in front of them, they’ll be more likely to try new things. Too many distractions can act as a sensory overload, so they need a sense of calm.
Approach the learning process with an open mind and be ready to try alternative methods. It can take a few attempts before a child accepts a food – don’t give up at the first hurdle.
tackling sensory issues
If children have sensory issues, trying new foods can be traumatic. Let’s be honest, you might be a little apprehensive when you try something new, too.
Often, food rejection is about the way it feels or smells. Children can become stressed out by this, meaning they associate that new food with fear. The sooner we can tackle this, the better, as this fear leads to only sticking to food that’s familiar.
How to tackle this unfamiliarity? Exposure! Give them lots and lots of opportunities to try new things.
If you’re struggling, try foods that are similar in texture and taste to what the child is happy to eat – they’re more likely to be accepted.
Many of us growing up were told not to play with our food. As it turns out, allowing a child to play with their food can reduce stress and allow exposure: if a child is happy to touch a food, they may be happy to eat it.
play with your food!
I’m sure we were all told, “Don’t play with your food!” when we were kids. We’ve been taught that playing with food leads to bad manners and food waste.
However, children need to play and stimulate their sensory organs at an early age. Children will want to play with food anyway, so enabling them to do so in a safe environment to empower their learning is more productive for everyone. As one early years professional said, “educating them about waste and caring for those that do not have comes after they fully have learnt from their basic sensory personal experiences.”
Sensory learning is an investment. Allowing children to be tactile and play with their food in a way that promotes a healthier, more open relationship with food reduces the likelihood of food rejection and wasted meals in the future.
top tips for sensory food play
Introduce how fruit and vegetables smell in different ways. They’ll smell completely different if they’ve been cooked, and if they’re completely raw.
Play games associated with smells and foods and get children to use their noses! Put coffee, lavender, vanilla and fruit teas into ‘scent bags’ to see what reactions they create. They can investigate a variety of household items, some foods, some not, and explore their different smells and textures. Try pricking oranges and lemons to allow the scents to escape, as well as fresh herbs, celery, or gingerbread men.
Be creative with the same foods. There’s no need to give up on carrots altogether if they aren’t going down a treat. They might not like cooked carrots, but what about raw carrots in a hummus dip? Broccoli could be preferred roasted to boiled. Always explore alternative, creative options.
Cut food up into small pieces – ideally fruit – and allow the children to taste them one at a time and see what kind of reaction you get.
Aim for a minimum of ten exposures, and repeat the process regularly so that the child becomes familiar with the new taste.
Give food a place outside of mealtimes. Try reading picture books about food before bed, for example. Letting children familiarise themselves with foods in different formats plays a huge role in their willingness to stray from the foods they’ve decided are ‘safe’.
Above all, remember that it’s a process – it’s not immediate. Taking a creative approach to food that involves all five senses is ideal for minimising issues such as fussy eating as much as possible.
Article adapted from ‘Why do young children reject food and how can you stop them?’ by Sarah Scotland (Famly Blog, 3rd February 2021)