Most children have a fairly definite taste, often to their parents' great frustration. Chances are that your little eye candy is no exception, and that every time new food is introduced, it presents a really big challenge. Even when it comes to dishes that should be appetizing and interesting for you, your child will refuse to even try it. The vast majority of children like what they already know and have tasted since before, and what they do not know is they probably not even willing to try.
We've put together five tips on how to make this process easier, and turn your little foodie into a real gourmet.
1. Introduce small amounts at a time
Just the sight of a plate full of food that the child has never seen or tasted can deter most people. Although you know the meal is super good, your child does not know it yet, and will instinctively be suspicious . Therefore, the only sense is to start by putting only a small amount of the new food on the plate and filling the rest of it with food that they already know.
2. Encourage tasting instead of a full meal
Do not be upset if the child approaches the food with enthusiasm and then screw it up, and express disgust for it just to put it in his mouth. Instead of trying to persuade them to eat it all, ask if they just want a little chewy bite, and explain that if they just taste it, they don't have to eat it all. If you continue to do this, the next time you serve the same food you can slowly increase the amount.
3. Involve the child in cooking
New food looks much less threatening if you let the child in when you prepare and cook it. By engaging the little one in cooking, and even on the shopping trip, they have already established a relationship with what is to be tasted long before food day. The stronger the relationship they know about the food, the less reluctant they will be when it's time to eat it.
4. Present the new food in a familiar way
Since you already know what the child likes to eat, and what it usually looks like when you serve it, you can use this knowledge with great advantage when presenting the new food, and so on ways make the unknown more familiar. In the first stage, all dramatization of new and foreign is recommended.
5. Praise your child when they try something new
There will be times when your child eats most of the new food you present to them, new acquaintances are made and new favorite flavors develop. Do not forget that every time your child actually takes the step and try something new praise them for the open mind. Reward is always an effective means, and your approval may very well affect their way of trying new ingredients and dishes - a little extra confidence can never be wrong in bringing down everything in front of one on the plate.
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