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Eat, Please
The Challenge of Feeding Your Toddler
By Alison Gamble
The toddler years, ages 1 to 3, are important years. Your child is finally able to interact with the world around him. This is a time when he wants to explore and experience what he sees. It is also a time to begin introducing new foods to him. This can be a trying time for both the child and parent.
The child needs to be given the opportunity to try new foods, decide if he likes them and not be forced to consume a food that he dislikes. Keep in mind that a child's taste buds are more sensitive to flavor than ours. As we age, our taste buds' sensitivity begins to diminish -- as so many other things in our bodies. So something that tastes mild to you may be horribly bitter to your toddler. There is a chemical found in foods called phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) that causes the bitter taste in some foods, such as grapefruit, strawberries, oranges, apples, bacon, turnips, broccoli and green beans. Some people are sensitive to this compound and therefore, are sensitive to the bitterness of those foods. So keep in mind your child's dislike of a food may be out of his or her control.
You do not want to force feed your child. The "clean your plate club" is a thing of the past. As an adult you do not (and should not) make judgements about an adult family member's personal food preferences. When a child is this young, it is not the time to give her a complex about her food preferences. She should be allowed to try what everyone else is and make her own decision as to whether or not she likes that food. I am not suggesting that you should go out of your way to create a completely different meal than what the rest of the family is eating, but give the child the chance to taste and develop her own likes and dislikes.