July 5, 2011 My Toddler Used to Eat Vegetables
My toddler used to eat vegetables…and then he stopped.
Makes you want to tear your hair out. I know because I’ve been there.
Actually, we’ve all been there. We’ve all had our once-happy-veggie-eaters turn into no-I’m-not-gonna-eat-that-and-there’s-nothing-you-can-do monsters. It’s one of the most common frustrations parents have.
Well, there is something you can do. Read on.
Many scholars believe toddlers have a natural impulse to reject foods because it keeps them alive.
Here’s the theory:
Toddlers are particularly vulnerable to eating poisonous foods because of two conditions: their newfound mobility frequently puts them out of momma’s protective reach, and they have a natural desire to put things into their mouths. Making toddlers reluctant to eat unfamiliar foods is Mother Nature’s way of solving this problem.
I don’t buy it.
1) This theory can’t explain why a child would reject a familiar food; one they've learned is not poisonous; one that’s already been cleared for consumption by mom.
2) Anyone who has ever been around a toddler knows these kids will put anything into their mouths—as long as it seems dangerous, weird, or something that would freak their parents out. Dirt. Flowers. Legos. But healthy vegetables? No way.
Here’s what I think (and it’s backed up by research).
Toddlers reject vegetables because other things taste better.
Of course control, developmental and personality issues also play a role. But answer this: How long after your child started eating solids did you switch from plain Cheerios to Honey Nut Cheerios?
Or start serving up Brown Sugar Cinnamon Oatmeal instead of plain oatmeal?
When did you trade in your child’s plain yogurt for vanilla, blueberry, or those delightful yogurt tubes? Introduce apple juice? Goldfish crackers? Chicken nuggets?
Around the time your child started rejecting vegetables?
Baby Food is bland, and it all—fruits, vegetables, cereals—taste basically the same. In comparison, toddler food is full of flavor. In fact, it gives kids a "flavor-hit."
Researchers recently discovered:
Kids who eat foods high in sugar, salt and fat—the basic “Child-friendly” diet—end up seeking out these kinds foods in order to achieve a “flavor-hit.” They’re going for the high!
Child-friendly foods may seem bland and boring to you, but these items are loaded with sugar, salt and fat. And kids like them! Read The Truth About “Child-Friendly” Foods.
That’s probably why the old standby, pasta with butter and parmesan, is such a success: Think salt and fat.
“Flavor-hit” foods train your kids to like junk (corn chips, not corn; cheese puffs, not cheese, and strawberry ice cream, not strawberries). "Flavor-hit" foods never taste like broccoli. (But they do taste like french fries!)
In other words, the basic “child-friendly” toddler diet trains your kids’ taste buds away from vegetables.
The way to increase vegetable consumption—or to stop the downslide— is to consciously manage the flavors you feed your kids.
Don’t think about nutrients as much as flavors, and don't overload your kids with sugar, salt, and fat. That was the message in my post Why Toddlers Don’t Eat Vegetables.
The reason is clear: Research shows that when kids eat a diet filled with sugar, salt, and fat they want more of these flavors. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle, and manufacturers are happy to oblige.
Here are some posts to get you thinking about proportion and flavor:
- Have Your Cake and Eat it Too!
- 10 Ways Improving Your Kids’ Snacking Will Improve YOUR Life.
- Training Tiny Taste Buds
~Changing the conversation from nutrition to habits.~
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Source: Cornwell, T. B. and A. R. McAlister. 2011. “Alternative Thinking About Starting Points in Obesity. Development of Child Taste Preferences.” Appetite 56: 428-39.
Dina Rose
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Reader Comments (6)
I agree. When people look at me like I'm nuts for making my daughter's baby food, I resist the urge to tell them to come back and talk to me when their kids won't eat textures or won't eat a variety of foods. It also makes me think about what I put in my own mouth. Since she is starting to eat what I eat, I've started eating even more fruit, cottage cheese, etc. No juice. I'm a mean mommy.
Though I never made my own baby food, I agree with your point: you have to feed your kids a variety of real food in order to keep them eating real food.
I'm also with you on improving my own eating. But I have to say, parents don't have to be stellar eaters in order to turn out stellar eaters. Parents just have to use some good teaching techniques, and cop to how being a "bad" eater has impacted their lives.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
Dina
I'd never thought about it until reading your post, but I'm thinking never buying a jar of baby food paid off in more ways than one for my family. My kids have always eaten vegetables. Even when other things come and go from their lists of preferred foods, I can always count on them scarfing down the vegetables.
Angela,
It sounds like you've found the right "formula" for keeping vegetables desirable. I'm thinking that in addition to not buying baby food in a jar you have a feeding style that includes rotating through a variety of fresh, natural foods with a sprinkling of processed "child-friendly" food on the side. Correct?
The baby food is not the veggie "killer." It's all that other stuff. But, I applaud you for making your own. I couldn't do it!
Dina
Well, my daughter (now 2 1/2) never ate purée, jarred or otherwise. She ate finger foods, the same foods we ate, and would eat anything. Roasted eggplant, peppers, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, etc. etc. I make my own yogurt, and have never sweetened hers. No packaged foods except for sugar-free freeze dried fruit and unsweetened apple sauce. No fruit juice. No sugar on the hot cereal, no syrup on the pancakes. Dessert is only occasional (except when visiting grandma, which only happens 2-3 times a year), and sweets are not 'treats' or rewards. We have not changed our diet, what we offer her, nor is she in daycare. Yet over the past year, she has steadily decreased the amount and variety of vegetables she eats, to where now it's only an occasional pea, chickpea, or sweet potato cube. She still eats my plain yogurt, but veggies are totally out, though I keep putting them on her plate. I do let her snack on cheese quite often, but I'm not sure I believe cheese alone can cause this sort of transformation. Suggestions?
Joanna,
I hear your frustration. Believe it or not, I would need to know more about your particular situation to offer you concrete solutions. (I know, it's hard to believe, given that you've provided so much information.)
For starters, your daughter's refusal of vegetables is probably developmental. Having said that, the solution can be found in analyzing what you've done when she has refused the vegetables to figure out what you can do differently. Figuring out what your daughter needs to learn in order to eat differently is key. I know this sounds vague, and it is. If you want to contact me to tell me more I can certainly offer more solutions.
Best,
Dina