Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
COOKING UP AN APPETITE FOR CHANGE
The family dinner table in most households has seen more battles than the Somme.
This is because 90% of parents want their children to have a more diverse diet, says research by Tilda Kids, while kids’ favourite foods haven’t changed at all since their parents’ generation.
Chicken nuggets, sausages and pizza are considered yummiest, while Brussels sprouts are still snot-covered balls of cabbage (according to my research).
The summer holidays are the ideal time to try kids on new foods (see today’s Lemon-aid tip), and even I’ve been trying to get my fussy daughter Jesse to eat something that isn’t beige.
She was a fussy toddler and now she’s a fussy pre-teen, and if she doesn’t get the scurvy I’ve been threatening her with for years, she’ll be a fussy adult.
Child psychologist from the Channel 4 series The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6-year olds, Dr Sam Wass, says there are scientific reasons why the same foods become favourites.
Working with Tilda Kids on its Mumsnet-accredited range of kids’ foods, Dr Sam says: “The density of taste buds in children’s mouths are different, meaning that they often prefer less strong-tasting foods.” The research also found that more than half of the UK make their children different meals to the rest of the family.
Here are Dr Sam’s top tips:
1. Make children’s meals like our own – it encourages them to try more foods. Eating adult foods with the rest of the family makes them feel more grown-up.
2. Develop taste buds by introducing strong flavours. Despite preferring blander foods, continue to encourage children to try new things as this helps their taste buds develop further.
3. Try new foods at home first. Children are often happy to take a risk and try something new where they are relaxed. It also helps that you’re not in a hurry, so you can leave the food until they decide to try it!