Do This When Starting Solids to Minimize Risk of Picky Eating
While picky eating is often seen as a developmental phase, the approach you take now can make a significant difference in your child's future food preferences. Learn how introducing a wide variety of foods early on can help pave the way for a more adventurous palate, critical windows during this developmental period and what NOT to do to minimize picky eating. Discover how to navigate this crucial period with confidence and set your little one up for a lifetime of healthy eating.
Starting solids - fun or fear?
As with almost anything surrounding new parenthood, starting solids can be such a mixed bag of emotions.
It can be so fun watching your sweet babe exploring new foods, and even more fun seeing their cute faces with the evidence of said exploration ALLLL over it. Nostalgia kicks in and you get so excited to share your favorite foods with them—Mom's famous egg and veggie casserole! Grandma's authentic spaghetti Bolognese! But let's be honest- a bit of worry can also creep in questioning everything. Am I feeding them the right things? Are they going to be safe while figuring out eating? And the most dread-inducing of all—are they even going to eat what I make?
Picky eating has been touted to be a rite of passage for toddlerhood, and some level of it may be inevitable, but the extent of it can usually be reduced with a little bit of foresight. What's more, even if the toddler/pre-school age pickiness isn't avoided (let's be honest there is so much more at play that I will get into in a bit), evidence suggests there are things we can do that sets up our children to incorporate more foods once the extreme picky-eating stage has been passed. Think of it like an insurance policy for your kids once they've outgrown the picky/autonomy-seeking stage.
If I can give you one tip, it would be to aim for LOTS of variety - of flavor, texture, and types of food. According to the research, eating the same food as the family and a wide variety of flavors and textures before one year are the most important inputs to raising an adventurous eater.
Relax, nothing is under control.
But before we dive into the details, I want to be clear:
You are not in control of whether your child becomes a picky eater.
That may be scary to hear, but maybe even a tiny bit.. freeing?
So if you've tried to do all the things and you still end up with a picky eater, let go of that urge to blame yourself. There are so many things at play including sensory perceptions, genetic sensitivities to compounds in certain foods, and general temperament of your child that happen to be just luck of the draw. What's more, to some extent, this picky eating stage may be an evolutionary advantage we picked up to keep us safe as we learn to become more independent and explore on our own.
Foods with bitter flavor profiles especially common with many whole vegetables and some fruits tended to be ones more likely to contain toxic substances, so this pickiness may have developed to help children avoid ingesting something potentially poisonous.
This actually can be seen in early pregnancy as well. When the fetus is rapidly forming all of their body systems and especially vulnerable during that critical first trimester, morning sickness and taste aversions can run rampant, especially to bitter foods. I learned first-hand just how strong this could be when I couldn't even stomach my beloved dark chocolate for a full 8 weeks. Nature's way of saying "this could be toxic— AVOID!" And nature is wise, y'all.
Thankfully we've learned so much since the trial and error times of our ancestors and know that even though things stray from the sweet taste profile preferred by our little ones they can be safely eaten and dare I say, enjoyed?
But how???
"Safe food" window
There is a window of time before 24 months that children are learning which foods are safe for them to eat, so it stands to reason that introducing as many foods as possible during this time is important for future eating habits. And the research supports this. After this sensitive window, children are becoming more mobile and independent, and the predisposition for that evolutionary aversion to new and complex flavored foods takes over.
From ages 2-8, this behavior dominates more often than not. Learning what foods are safe to eat that are outside the evolutionary "safe zone" flavors of sweet, salty and bland is best achieved during the first 2 years of life, though this often takes multiple introductions to be accepted. But the most golden time for introducing new flavors and textures is before 9 months of age.
Prioritizing whole food forms of fruits and vegetables in this golden window compared to commercially prepared purees has been associated with more consumption of fruit and vegetables in school-age children. Early introduction (around 4 months) of small tastes of diverse flavors, as opposed to fully starting solids, can be beneficial for increasing new and bitter food acceptance later in life.
This golden window is particularly important when it comes to textures.
Which reminds me —please, give your baby textures beyond purees as early on in your solids journey as possible. I promise they can handle it.
Related: Top 12 foods to start baby-led weaning
It is being discovered that there is a window before 9 months for critical oral motor development in children which is obtained by exposure to a wide variety of textures and opportunities to learn to chew. Missing this window to transition from purees to solids can lead to more extreme food aversions later in life. That’s why starting solids with baby-led weaning, on its own or in combination with purees, can be so beneficial to reduce picky eating down the line—baby is exposed to many more textures and distinct flavors than purees alone would allow for. So I encourage you to go wild in those first few weeks of starting solids, especially—grapefruit, brussel sprouts, asparagus, oh my!
Some research even suggests introducing solids by 4 months further increases food acceptance and decreases the risk of allergies. However, The World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Academy of Family Physician have all recommended infants be exclusively breast fed for the first 6 months of life to optimize their growth, development and health, so in most cases I do not recommend starting much earlier than that beyond small tastes of diverse flavors here and there.
The exception to this is babies at high-risk for developing allergies, whom research shows can benefit from earlier exposure to certain allergens.
Good for minimizing picky eating habits, even better for the microbiome
This window of time is also a hugely important time for microbiome development. From day 1 of starting solids, your baby's microbiome starts its shift towards its adult-like state that'll be reached around 3-5 years old. Their gut bacterial diversity is increasing, and supplying a wide-variety of food for their gut microbes too will set them up for optimal health and well-being.
Research shows that healthy microbiome development is so important for proper metabolic and immune function, so thinking about how to nourish your child's microbiome from the start can pay off for their future health.
Related: Learn why eating a wide-variety of plants is the number 1 input for a healthy microbiome. And be sure to check out my free recipe guide for variety-rich meals for gut health that the whole family will enjoy!
This is no time for pressure.
You've gotten this far and maybe you're convinced to start implementing this practice when your little one starts solids. Hooray! I do want to give one major caveat though. The one thing you DO NOT want to do if you want to reduce the risk of picky eating is to pressure your child to eat. This more often than not backfires and will likely cause your child to dig their feet in deeper and resist any attempts from you to eat.
So while you should aim to introduce as many different flavors and textures as possible during the golden window, ensuring they are eaten should never be the goal. So take the stress off yourself and your kids and try and soak up as many family meal memories as possible.
As you dive into the world of solids with your baby, it’s natural to feel a mix of excitement and anxiety. You’re not alone in wondering if you’re doing it right or if your little one will turn into a picky eater. The good news? While you can't control every aspect of their future food preferences, you can make a significant impact on shaping their future food habits.
I hope you feel a bit more energized to take on starting solids with your little one, knowing this is such a special time to set them up for a lifelong appreciation of the many delicious foods available to us, without the pressure of perfection. By focusing on offering a diverse range of flavors and textures and enjoying the process, you help build a positive relationship with food for your child. So, relax, savor the moments of exploration, and take pride in knowing that your efforts today will help your child grow into a confident eater tomorrow.
If you are feeling nervous about starting solids and would like some extra support by a nutrition consultant certified in baby nutrition, you can book a private consult with me here!
Photo credit: StockCake
