The Picky Eating Phase: When Do Toddlers Become Less Fussy?
This is when your toddler may start to try new foods … #finally.
It may seem like you’ve tried everything in the book to get your toddler to explore new foods. Broccoli dunked in ketchup? Check. Letting your kid pick out the funniest looking veggie at the supermarket? Check. Vroom, vroom here comes peas on their favorite race car spoon! Check. Check. Exasperated check.
When none of your tricks to get your picky toddler to eat work, you may start to feel a bit hopeless. Will your little one ever want anything besides cereal and mac and cheese? “A lot of times the parents just give up because they’re exhausted,” says Dyan Hes, MD, a pediatrician and double-board certified in pediatrics and obesity medicine.
Before you throw in the towel, remember this: “[Picky eating is] a common and actually very typical, predictable phase that kids go through. It’s one of the only ways that kids have to exert any control over their environment,” says Frances Largeman-Roth, RDN, a nutritionist and cookbook author in New York City.
So when will this phase, well, phase out? “Picky eating usually gets a little bit better as the child gets older, around four or five years of age,” says Preeti Parikh, MD, a pediatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital and HealthiNation’s chief medical editor. By that age they’re starting school, so they’ll be exposed to foods that you don’t have at home and eventually start to try things on their own, says Largeman-Roth. Some kids, however, may just be picky eaters into their teen or adult years.
Either way, it’s important to not give up. “It can actually take between 15 and 18 times of introducing a new food for a kid to even try it let alone like it, so persistence is key,” says Largeman-Roth. So just because your kid doesn’t devour sweet potatoes the first time you serve them doesn’t mean he won’t want them eventually.
“A lot of parents feel like feeding their kids is a really thankless job, but it’s so important because you’re really helping them to develop their palate. Introducing those healthy foods early is really vital for getting them on track to be a healthy eater,” says Largeman-Roth.
Along with getting your kids to eat more nutritious foods, it’s also important to make sure they’re eating less of the bad stuff. Here’s how to encourage kids to eat less junk.
Frances Largeman-Roth is a nutritionist and cookbook author in New York City.
Dyan HesDr. Hes is a pediatrician and medical director of Gramercy Pediatrics in New York City. She is double board certified in pediatrics and obesity medicine.
Preeti ParikhPreeti Parikh, MD serves as the Chief Medical Officer of HealthiNation. She is a board-certified pediatrician practicing at Westside Pediatrics, is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and is an American Academy of Pediatrics spokesperson. She holds degrees from Columbia University and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and has completed post-graduate training at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
1
00:00:00.760 --> 00:00:03.070 line:15%
(upbeat music)
2
00:00:03.070 --> 00:00:07.950 line:15%
It's a common and actually very typical, predictable,
3
00:00:07.950 --> 00:00:10.440
phase that kids go through and really it's because it's
4
00:00:10.440 --> 00:00:14.730
one of the only ways that kids have to exert any control
5
00:00:14.730 --> 00:00:18.113
over their environment.
(playful music)
6
00:00:21.210 --> 00:00:22.930 line:15%
Picky eating usually gets a little bit better as
7
00:00:22.930 --> 00:00:25.880 line:15%
the child gets older, around four to five years of age.
8
00:00:25.880 --> 00:00:28.240 line:15%
But there are some that are going to be picky eaters.
9
00:00:28.240 --> 00:00:32.900
Usually by four, five they are trying more new foods.
10
00:00:32.900 --> 00:00:34.960
They're gonna go off to school, they're gonna be exposed
11
00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:36.720
to foods that you don't have at home
12
00:00:36.720 --> 00:00:39.380
and they will eventually start to try new things on
13
00:00:39.380 --> 00:00:40.213
their own.
14
00:00:40.213 --> 00:00:42.760 line:15%
And it's just about trial and error and a lot of times
15
00:00:42.760 --> 00:00:44.557 line:15%
parents just give up because they're exhausted.
16
00:00:44.557 --> 00:00:46.510
But I say try it again.
17
00:00:46.510 --> 00:00:47.700
Did you try avocado again?
18
00:00:47.700 --> 00:00:48.950
Did you try banana again?
19
00:00:48.950 --> 00:00:51.100
And it's oh no I haven't done that for like six months.
20
00:00:51.100 --> 00:00:53.040
Well let's try it now that your child's more mature,
21
00:00:53.040 --> 00:00:53.873
let's see.
22
00:00:53.873 --> 00:00:56.160
Things that they did like they sometimes stop liking
23
00:00:56.160 --> 00:00:58.910
and things that hey didn't like they all of a sudden have
24
00:00:58.910 --> 00:01:00.538
a newfound appreciation for.
25
00:01:00.538 --> 00:01:03.990
The other thing to remember is that kids have a natural
26
00:01:03.990 --> 00:01:06.680
predisposition to liking sweet things.
27
00:01:06.680 --> 00:01:10.470
They don't have any appreciation for bitterness.
28
00:01:10.470 --> 00:01:13.418
And appreciation for bitterness is something that's
29
00:01:13.418 --> 00:01:14.251
acquired over time you know.
30
00:01:14.251 --> 00:01:16.620
When you were growing up you probably didn't like coffee
31
00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:17.990
and brussels sprouts.
32
00:01:17.990 --> 00:01:21.421
We can't really expect a two year old to love kale.
33
00:01:21.421 --> 00:01:24.750
It's just not, it's not really how they're programmed.
34
00:01:24.750 --> 00:01:28.781
But that doesn't mean that they can't enjoy it over time.
35
00:01:28.781 --> 00:01:31.448 line:15%
(playful music)
- 10 Tips for Parents of Picky Eaters. Itasca, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics (Accessed on February 27, 2022 at https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/nutrition/Pages/Picky-Eaters.aspx)
- Tips for Feeding Picky Eaters. Itasca, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics (Accessed on February 27, 2022 at https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/Picky-Eaters.aspx)
- Toddlers at the Table: Avoiding Power Struggles. Wilmington, DE: Nemours (Accessed on February 27, 2022 at https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/toddler-meals.html)