A Child’s Refusal to try new foods

Children have very little control over their lives, but when it comes to eating, and what they like to eat they have choices. It is a chance for them to decide what they want. The refusal to try new foods that parents believe to be healthy and nutritious can come from a number of sources.

Up to the age of two we will eat anything. After that we become neophobic which means we do not like experimenting with new food. When trying a new food with the child some parents believe the child dislikes this new food, and ceases to give it to them – when in reality the child dislikes all new foods. If Mum/Dad keep giving it to them they just get used to it.

“The point is: we don’t just eat foods because we like them, we like them because we eat them”
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To learn how to dislike a food is simple because it just has to make us sick. Taste aversion is a survival mechanism and an innate knowing that sweet is good while bitter is bad. Bitter tastes are associated with toxic plants and fruits while the sweet flavour is associated as a source of energy.

There are also other factors that affect how something tastes, and these are smell, and texture. How the food feels when its in your mouth. Some food feels slippery and slimy, while other food is hard and crunchy.