Tricks To Introduce New Foods
When the nutritional needs of children require them to change their diet, it is normal for parents to be afraid that the little ones will refuse food. In these cases, they have to resort to tricks to introduce new foods.
Regardless of the appetite that children enjoy, at any stage of their childhood they can find themselves suffering from the so-called neophobia. This feeling is nothing but fear of all that is new or unknown.
If we adults often refuse to try new dishes, even more so children can experience this sensation. For this reason we want to talk to you about this topic. To ensure that, having the necessary knowledge tools, you can manage the situation in the best way and be able to introduce new foods into their diet.
Where does the fear or reluctance for new foods come from?
The fear of trying new foods is not an attitude adopted exclusively by children. We human beings have deeply rooted in us what scientists call the “omnivore’s dilemma”. It is that phenomenon thanks to which we feel an unconscious fear in trying new foods due to an ancestral memory that associates the ingestion of unknown plants with severe gastric discomfort, or even death from poisoning.
From this we deduce that what we can consider a reluctance to eat due to a whim of children is, in fact, an attitude associated with their oldest survival instincts. So, if we respond unconsciously by showing aversion to new foods, how can we use these basic instincts to our advantage to get children to eat what we want to offer them again?
Tricks for introducing new foods
There are many tricks for introducing new foods into children’s diets. In the following lines we will provide a list in which we will recommend the most effective ideas.
Play with food
The texture and color of foods are believed to be decisive when it comes to overcoming their reluctance to eat. If something looks soft, lumpy, or crunchy, there is an 80% chance that children will be disgusted with it and won’t want to eat it.
However, if the child comes into direct contact with the “strange” consistency food through his hands, a feeling of familiarity will arise in his mind that will lead him to want to try it and then consume a good portion, without feeling fear or repugnance.
Don’t force him to eat
If a child is forced to eat a food through punishment or by force, even more deep-seated feelings of rejection will be created in the child. A child agrees to eat a food of goodwill after trying it numerous times.
Which means you can start by offering your baby a spoonful of the new food. If you don’t want it, stop and, after two or three days, repeat the operation. Of course, patience will be needed, but thanks to frequent consumption, the dish in question will become something familiar to the child.
Teaching by example
It is not enough to tell the child to eat certain foods if he then sees that we do not. Children learn and repeat actions through imitation. When the little ones realize that we eat a food with a lot of enthusiasm and joy, visibly appreciating its flavor, they will immediately feel the confidence and interest that will push them to try it, to see for themselves what it is.
Avoid giving them excess sugar-rich foods, fast food or fried foods
If you want to add other vegetables and vegetables to your child’s diet, avoid overeating sweets, fried foods or foods that contain flavor enhancers, such as monosodium glutamate found in fast food foods. Their ingestion prevents children from feeling comfortable if they eat products whose flavor has not been artificially treated.
Finally, it is important that when you try to introduce new foods into your child’s diet, you sit at the table with him at mealtimes, so that the little one feels that you are trying the flavors of the new foods together.
To achieve this, the child must concentrate on the action of eating. Therefore, to ensure that the experience is positive, when you are at the table turn off the TV, remove the toys from his view and stimulate him without pressure.
