I’m convinced a toddler’s favorite phrases are “No!” and “I do it myself!”
And when those two favorite phrases collide with mealtime? Well, introducing your toddler to new foods can get a little interesting.
Toddlers are busy discovering that they have opinions—and they would very much like you to know what those opinions are. The shirt you picked? No. The shoes you suggested? No. Getting into the car seat? Absolutely not. And that innocent little piece of broccoli you placed beside the chicken nuggets?
How dare you.
We have plenty of typical toddler dinners in our home: turkey and cheese sticks, chicken nuggets and French fries, mac and cheese and hot dogs. Sometimes you just need to put something on the table that you know your child will eat.
But we also like to introduce our kid to new flavors, textures and foods. And sometimes she surprises us! So far, she’s really enjoyed shrimp, pork belly, broccoli and fish.
Who knew?
Expanding a toddler’s flavor profile can feel like a long, hard, uphill battle, but it’s worth continuing to offer different foods and experiences. Toddlers are still learning what they like, and something they refuse today may become a favorite several months from now.
So if your little one regards every unfamiliar food as a personal attack, don’t give up. Here are five tips for helping your toddler become a more adventurous eater.
1. Make Food Fun
Toddlers love to play, so why not bring a little playfulness to the table?
Use eye-catching colors, shapes, plates and bowls to make meals more interesting. Broccoli can become little trees. Orange slices can become smiles. Berries can become eyes. A sandwich can suddenly become much more appealing when it’s cut into a star instead of a square.
FUN!
You don’t have to create a Pinterest-worthy masterpiece every night, either. Nobody has time to turn an ordinary lunch into a three-dimensional zoo scene on a Tuesday afternoon.
Keep it simple.
Try arranging several colorful foods on a plate and letting your toddler explore them. Offer dips when appropriate—toddlers seem to understand instinctively that dipping things makes them approximately 400 percent more delicious.
You can even give foods silly names. Maybe peas are “tiny green balls,” carrots are “bunny snacks,” or blueberries are “blue bites.”
The goal isn’t necessarily to get your toddler to clean the plate. It’s simply to make encountering new foods feel positive instead of stressful.
2. Involve Your Kids in Planning and Prepping
Raising little chefs can help create little foodies!
Toddlers love helping, particularly when they get to say, “I do it myself!”
So take advantage of it.
Let your toddler help choose a fruit or vegetable at the grocery store. Ask, “Should we try the red pepper or the yellow pepper?” At home, give them simple, age-appropriate kitchen jobs such as washing produce, stirring ingredients, sprinkling cheese or placing ingredients into a bowl.
They might be much more interested in tasting something they helped make.
Cooking together also gives you an opportunity to introduce food without the pressure of sitting at the dinner table.
“What does this strawberry smell like?”
“Is this cucumber crunchy?”
“What color is this pepper?”
Even if your child doesn’t actually eat the new food, touching it, smelling it, washing it or helping prepare it can make that food feel less unfamiliar the next time it appears.
And yes, cooking with a toddler takes approximately seven times longer and involves approximately twelve times more cleanup.
Consider it part of the experience.
3. Use “Food Bridges”
One of the easiest ways to introduce something unfamiliar is to connect it to something your toddler already loves.
Think of it as building a little bridge from “I LOVE THIS!” to “Okay…maybe I’ll try that.”
If mashed potatoes are a favorite, try mashed sweet potatoes next. Later, perhaps mashed cauliflower.
If your toddler loves chicken nuggets, try another breaded protein or pieces of grilled chicken.
Love strawberries? Introduce raspberries.
Love cheddar cheese? Try mozzarella or another mild cheese.
Love pasta with butter? Add a tiny amount of Parmesan, then perhaps introduce another simple sauce later.
You don’t need to completely replace a favorite food with something new. In fact, placing a familiar food alongside an unfamiliar one can make the entire meal feel safer and more approachable.
That means the dinner plate might contain chicken nuggets—the dependable old friend—along with two little pieces of roasted sweet potato.
Maybe your toddler eats them.
Maybe she licks one.
Maybe she touches it and announces, “YUCK!”
That still counts as an introduction.
4. Sit Together as a Family
Whenever possible, sit down together and share a meal.
Your toddler learns an enormous amount simply by watching you.
If Mom, Dad or an older sibling is happily eating broccoli, your toddler may eventually decide that broccoli deserves further investigation.
Make conversation. Laugh. Talk about your day. Enjoy your own food.
And don’t just stare at your toddler while waiting for them to take a bite.
No one likes that!
Imagine sitting at a restaurant while three people silently watch you and chant, “TRY IT. TRY IT. JUST ONE BITE.”
You probably wouldn’t feel particularly adventurous, either.
Instead, make mealtime about being together rather than turning it into a food negotiation.
You can encourage your child without forcing them. Keep portions of unfamiliar foods small so they don’t feel overwhelming. If your toddler doesn’t want something, avoid turning dinner into a battle of wills.
The goal is to create positive associations with family meals—and with food itself.
Family meals also provide opportunities to model healthy habits. Your toddler sees you eating vegetables, trying unfamiliar foods and enjoying a variety of tastes and textures.
You don’t have to tell them what adventurous eating looks like.
You can show them.
5. Try, Try—and Try Again
This may be the hardest tip of all.
Keep offering the food.
It’s exhausting and, at times, frustrating. You bought the blueberries. You washed the blueberries. You lovingly placed three perfect blueberries on the plate.
Your toddler looked at them and said, “No.”
Tomorrow, offer them again.
Young children sometimes need multiple exposures to a food before they’re comfortable tasting or accepting it. And “exposure” doesn’t necessarily mean eating an entire serving.
Looking at it counts.
Touching it counts.
Smelling it counts.
Taking a tiny taste counts.
Your child is becoming familiar with the food each time it appears.
Try preparing foods in different ways, too. A toddler who rejects steamed carrots might like roasted carrots. A child who doesn’t want an apple may love thin apple slices. Someone who refuses plain yogurt might enjoy yogurt with berries.
Preferences change quickly during these years, so yesterday’s rejected food can become tomorrow’s obsession.
Take the Pressure Off
Finally, don’t panic if it sometimes feels like your child lives exclusively on Goldfish crackers and chicken nuggets.
Toddler eating can be unpredictable.
One day your child eats enough food to make you wonder where they’re putting it all. The next day they seem to survive on three crackers, half a banana and sheer determination.
Continue offering a variety of nutritious foods alongside familiar favorites, and talk with your child’s pediatrician if you have concerns about their growth, nutrition, swallowing, allergies or an extremely limited diet.
And remember to serve foods in age-appropriate sizes and textures and supervise young children while they eat to reduce choking risks.
Otherwise, give yourself—and your toddler—some grace.
You’re not trying to create a gourmet food critic by age three. You’re helping your child develop a comfortable, curious relationship with food that can grow over time.
Keep offering.
Keep modeling.
Keep experimenting.
Keep dinner fun.
Because someday that toddler who dramatically rejected broccoli may suddenly ask for seconds.
And when it happens, try not to look too shocked.
Source:
Newsymom