- Image via Wikipedia
by Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.
Kids should be taught to eat a variety of foods from an early age. Children who are exposed to various foods during childhood are more likely to learn to enjoy those foods in adulthood, even if they don’t like them while they are young.
The mistake parents often make is giving up on a new food after just one trial. It typically takes at least six to eight exposures of a new food before children will accept it. Sometimes it can even take ten to fifteen trials before children develop a liking for a new food. Eating a variety of different foods ensures your children are getting all the nutrients they need to grow.
Tips to Introducing New Foods:
1. Lead by example. Try new foods yourself.
2. Don’t let your children know that you don’t like certain foods. If you tell your children that you hate broccoli, it is unlikely that they will give it a fair chance.
3. Institute Dr. Dolgoff’s “Two Bite Rule”. Children must try two bites of each new food they are served. If they don’t like the food, they do not have to eat the rest. However, they do need to eat two bites of it each time it is served. It is likely that with time, your children will learn to like it. It is advised to wait at least one week before serving the same food again.
4. Do not force feed your children. Two bites is all you should insist they eat.
5. Continue to encourage your child to try new foods, different tastes and textures.
6. Introduce new foods with a variety of other foods, such as a casserole or a stir-fry dish, which may disguise a particular taste they may not like.
7. Don’t expect children to eat all foods offered to them; encourage tastings at first.
8. Select foods that are healthy and are already varied, such as multi-grain breads or cereals.
9. Serve a variety of foods from an early age. For example, expose your toddler to fish (besides shellfish) early on so he develops a taste for it from the beginning.
10. If your child still does not like a particular food after twenty or more tastes, you may move on. Your child may truly dislike the food.
~Reminder~
- Image via Wikipedia
• Parents decide on what foods will be eaten and when meals will be served.
• Serve meals at the same time every day, if possible, to create patterns.
• Eliminate distractions during meal times. Turn off the television and computer. All attention should be focused on the meal.
• Expect rejection to new foods; continue to try again.
Did You Know?
Children are much more sensitive than adults to four sensations: Sweet, Sour, Bitter, and Salty. Children have five times more taste buds than adults.
Exercise for this week:
Bring the kids to the supermarket for a special trip. Walk through the fruit and vegetable section and have them pick out a new fruit or a vegetable that looks fun and interesting, such as a mango, pomegranate, papaya, apricot, escarole, swiss chard or Chinese eggplant. Then go home and research together on how to prepare the food item of the week!
Joanna Dolgoff, MD is a pediatrician, child obesity expert, and author of Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right. Kids from 45 states and Canada are losing weight with DrDolgoff.com, her online child and adolescent weight management program. Dr. Dolgoff sees patients in her Roslyn Heights and New York City locations.
–
Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.
Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right
Child and Adolescent Weight Management
Blog: www.DrDolgoff.com/blog
FB: www.facebook.com/DrDolgoff
Tw: www.twitter.com/JoannaDolgoffMD
Read More Articles at BestBabyThings
Related articles by Zemanta
- Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.: Why Won’t the Government Follow the FDA Suggestion Regarding Salt? (huffingtonpost.com)
- Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.: Whole Milk Is Not Appropriate For Kids: So Why Are Schools Still Serving It? (huffingtonpost.com)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=30d61cef-a03f-4435-b728-5dcbbb74f96d)
