Food neophobia is the complete refusal by children to try new foods. The reactions of “I don’t like”especially with those healthy produce, it can make eating a real challenge.
It is completely normal for children to refuse some fruits and vegetables.. For example, they may dislike pears or broccoli due to their taste. However, what shouldn’t happen is that they don’t want to try any other type of food that is within this group.
If a child refuses any fruit, they may end up suffering from a vitamin deficiency. The same happens if she flatly refuses to try any vegetables.
How to manage food neophobia with the little ones
We offer you a series of tips to deal with this disorder that endangers the food balance, which can increase the risk of developing pathologies in the medium and long term.
Neophobia is one of the most frequent eating problems in children. THE current scientific literature ensures that this condition is able to determine their future diet and with it their quality of life.
Adults are his great example
Do we eat the fruit and vegetables that we want the little ones to eat? Food neophobia implies it what hasn’t even been tried is rejected. Therefore, kids don’t know whether they like that food or not.
This It usually happens if the parents don’t eat everything. Additionally, children may also be given foods that their parents cannot tolerate eating. In these cases, children won’t want to consume them either.
As parents, we have to give example. Does our child not want to try something new? So, let’s taste a different food, thus making him understand that, until he tastes it, it cannot be established whether he likes its taste or not.
Also, Another good way to combat food neophobia is cooking with children. In this way, in addition to strengthening our bond with them, they will come into contact with food in a very different way than they used to. Cooking can boost your curiosity.
Introduce new foods one at a time
A good tip to avoid the baby’s absolute refusal of new foods is introduce them one by one. For example, if you’ve never eaten spinach but have had rice, we’ll combine that rice by adding spinach as a new item.
If I had never eaten spinach and we suddenly put them on the plate, the child will refuse to eat. You will feel that there are too many new elements and you will refuse to eat what is on your plate.
This technique is especially useful for introducing strong-flavored vegetables into the diet. An example of these would be broccoli, the consumption of which is associated with a lower risk of developing certain types of cancer, according to the experts. This power is mainly due to the presence of sulforaphanes in its composition.
Prizes will never be offered.
To say “If you eat it, I’ll give you chocolate” OR “If you eat it, we’ll go to the park this afternoon” It’s not a good idea. The child will take eating something new as a real sacrifice and will only do it because there is a reward waiting for him. If there isn’t, he won’t eat anything.
Therefore, in case the child does not want to eat, do not blackmail or punish him nor force it. What you should do is leave that food in sight so that the child can see it and, little by little, become curious to try it. Children are very curious.
It will also help if the parents eat the food and enjoy it.. If they prepare a meal that includes that food and the child’s food does not, there may come a time when the child asks: “And why don’t you put it on for me?”
Many times, when you don’t force a child to eat something they don’t want, eventually they end up asking you for it. This is great advice if your child suffers from food neophobia.
“He won’t eat it” is counterproductive
If when we are preparing food for the baby one of the parents says “he won’t eat it”, most likely it is. The child will already imagine how bad that food is and won’t even want to try it. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid these types of comments and that the ones we say out loud are positive. This will help your child overcome his food neophobia.
Remember that the more varied the child’s diet, the better his or her health will be in the medium to long term. It is essential, second research published in the journal International Journal of Epidemiologythat vegetables are regularly included in the diet.
THE Food neophobia is very common in children. However, we can solve it effectively by putting the above recommendations into practice. Has your child ever had food neophobia? How did you solve the problem?
The post How to deal with a food neophobia first properly appeared on research-school