Picky eating
Picky eating is normal between the ages of two and six – new foods often need 8 to 15 attempts, without pressure and without bribes.
Ausführlich erklärt
When toddlers suddenly refuse vegetables, it's not a parenting failure but part of development: between about two and six years of age, wariness of new foods – food neophobia – reaches its peak. It probably protected our ancestors when children began walking around on their own and putting things in their mouths. On top of that, children naturally reject bitter tastes more strongly than adults do, and many vegetables taste slightly bitter.
The most important finding from research on eating behaviour: a new food often has to be offered 8 to 15 times before a child accepts it. A small taste without pressure has the strongest effect; seeing, smelling, touching and helping to cook also help to reduce the wariness. Many parents give up after the third “yuck”. Keeping at it, without drama, is the whole trick.
What doesn't help: pressure and bargaining (“two bites, then you can have dessert”). In studies, children who had to eat a food to get something else ended up liking that food less – and the reward more. Small recognition for trying, such as praise or a sticker, can help, on the other hand, as long as it isn't about finishing the plate. Special requests on demand also hold things back: if a child knows there'll be pasta with butter if all else fails, there's no need to try the broccoli.
What helps: offering new foods alongside familiar ones, small amounts, vegetables as a first course when hunger is greatest, letting children help decide and cook, trying different preparations (raw, roasted – vegetables get sweeter in the oven) and visibly enjoying the food yourself. A “tasting plate” with no obligation takes the pressure off. Raw vegetables with a dip often work where cooked ones fail.
The limits of normal: if your child eats only very few foods (as a rough guide: fewer than about 20), completely avoids whole food groups, stops gaining weight or loses weight, or if eating triggers great anxiety, talk to your paediatrician. This could be due to avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) – it's very treatable, and the earlier it's recognised, the better.