Many families in the United States find it difficult to get kids to eat healthy. We tend to think that it’s because healthier foods don’t taste as good as unhealthy foods. However, in looking at the eating patterns of children and adults in other countries and cultures, we see that taste is not a deterrent; children in other countries eat many foods that would probably be patently rejected by American children.

For example, Japanese parents feed their children fish broth at very young ages, and one of the first solid foods is a rice porridge to which small bits of dried fish, tofu and even mashed pumpkin are eventually added.

In many cultures, insects are a staple food, and are sometimes eaten by a child even before she can chew them.  How?  Just like birds, the parent chews them first and then feeds them to the child.  Inuit children in the Arctic often eat seaweed and seal blubber. So is it really the taste of the foods?  Clearly our tastes are learned.

Since learning of eating habits like these, I have always felt that children in the US reject healthier foods like vegetables and fish because they are not introduced to them early enough or often enough — and studies are verifying just that.  Researchers have found that a mom’s eating habits even during pregnancy influence a child’s food preferences.

Studies have shown that infants that are breastfed are more accepting of a variety of fruits and vegetables when they start eating solid foods if their mother ate those vegetables and fruits during pregnancy.¹

Other studies have found that repeated exposures to fruits and vegetables with baby foods will improve the child’s intake of those foods as they grow older.  So, if you haven’t yet had children and are planning to, one way to get your child to eat better is to do so yourself and to feed healthier foods to children regularly.

The problem we have in the US is that our unhealthy eating patterns are being passed on to our kids.  I once noticed a mother feeding her infant who looked to be about 7 or 8 months old.  At first she was feeding the baby from a jar of vegetable baby food.

After a few spoonfuls, the baby seemed to be slowing down on the food, at which time, the mother stated, “Aw, you don’t like those yucky vegetables.  Well, here’s something good.”  At that point, she took out a baggy of cheese puffs out and started breaking off small pieces and feeding them to the child.

I had no doubt that later on that mother would bemoan the fact that she couldn’t get her child to eat healthy.  Would she remember the many times she had actually taught her child that vegetables were yucky and junk food was good?  Probably not.

Too many times if the parents don’t like the foods, they don’t feed them to the children. We need to realize that even if we don’t like them, our children can learn to like them if we give them a chance.  So don’t sell your children short.

If you are the parents of a young child who is already rejecting healthier foods, with persistence you can turn the situation around.  The primary goals are to decrease the sugar intake as much as possible and to increase anti-inflammatory foods such as vegetables and beans.

The challenge of getting your child to eat nutritious food begins at home. One study showed that it took 8 to 15 exposures to a new food to increase acceptance of it.2  Explore different produce items often and don’t give up on a food before introducing it at least 8 times.  I recommend trying the food cooked and seasoned using different techniques.

To lower sugar intake, label comparisons can go a long way, especially with items like granola bars, where there is a huge variance in sugar content.

And when eating out, think beyond the kids menu and take advantage of the size and price of appetizers and side dishes. Experiment to see if your child will eat spinach and artichoke dip with some pita chips and a few carrot sticks, or a chicken skewer dipped in ketchup or a little bit of honey mustard.  Be persistent; it does pay off with the most important benefit — a healthier child.

References

1. Textbook of Human Lactation. Amarillo, TX: Hale Publishing; 2007: 403– 413.
   
2. J of Nutr Ed and Behav. 2003. 35(6) 337-38.

[Ed. Note: Laura B. LaValle, RD, LD is presently the director of dietetics nutrition at LaValle Metabolic Institute.   Laura and her husband, Jim LaValle, R.Ph, CCN, ND have developed the powerful and life-changing Metabolic Code Diet – containing step-by-step, easy to follow recommendations for harnessing optimal metabolic energy and turning your body’s chemical make up into a fat-burning furnace.  To learn more click here now.]

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