Establishing Healthy Eating Habits In You Toddler That Last

Some families are full of happy salad-eaters while some are full of kids who subsist off Mac-n-Cheese and sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Most parents of picky eaters wonder how to get their children to eat a wider variety of foods. Why will some children readily eat broccoli, baked fish, and casseroles while other children refuse to eat anything except cheese sandwiches and Fruit Loops?

Kids aren't born picky. When a mother is pregnant, the amniotic fluid takes on the flavor and smell of any food that she eats. Babies in utero swallow this fluid and become accustomed to the types of foods Mom eats. After birth, breastmilk also takes on the flavor and smell of Mom's foods so Baby continues being exposed to a wide variety of tastes. Because of this, a baby will usually accept virtually any food he is offered.

What happens between that delightful time of introducing new foods and the preschool years when pickiness often rears its ugly head? Why does a child who would eat pureed broccoli as a baby now refuse any vegetable (much less a green one!) now that she's three?

The optimal time to train a child's taste buds to appreciate nutritious foods is during the first and second year. I believe that the key to a lifetime of healthy eating habits is avoiding sugar and junk foods until at least age two. Most parents are careful with the foods their baby eats, but as soon as the first birthday arrives it seems they've entered a no-holds-barred arena. The birthday girl buries her face in icing that's made of powdered sugar and milk. Dad gives his boy sips of Mountain Dew. Giving crackers or a piece of bread when the toddler needs a snack seems easier than peeling and cutting fruit.

Consequences of Early Introduction of "Junk Foods"

The tastes of sugar, chocolate, and sweet drinks are very addictive. Just about anyone would admit that a donut tastes better than a carrot stick. A one-year-old certainly can't understand that cookies and candy have no nutrition or that he needs fruits and vegetables to be healthy. So he always chooses the sweet foods, and as time passes he refuses non-sweet foods even when sweet foods aren't available. His diet becomes smaller and smaller until he's living off nothing but peanut butter sandwiches.

I took great care with the foods I gave my oldest son. He ate meals with my husband and me and, for his snacks, he had fruit slices, hard-boiled eggs, cheese cubes, and vegetables. On his second birthday, I baked him peanut butter cookies and he nibbled them so carefully and slowly. He had never had a cookie before–nor any soft drinks, desserts, or junk foods like potato chips. After his second birthday, we started allowing him to have ice cream, cookies, brownies - all the desserts we adults love. But he never stopped enjoying fruits and vegetables. He's nearly eight now, and his preferred snacks are grapes, apples, and cantaloupe. He eats a variety of vegetables, and we rarely have to remind him to eat a certain food on his plate.

My second son is a different story! They say you really let down your guard the second time around, and I am truly guilty of ignoring healthy eating with my second child. I can remember licking the salt off of french fries and giving them to him when he was only six months old. We'd give him bites of bread, but I don't remember giving him pureed vegetables or fruits at all when he was a baby. (I don't know where my head went!) After he was old enough to chew some things, I continued giving him bread and "easy" things like mashed potatoes. We also never hesitated to give him a bite of cookie or donut. He is four now and a poor eater. He eats green beans and will occasionally eat raw carrots' but I can't think of any other vegetable that he'll touch. He does enjoy apples and bananas but refuses to try any new fruits. We are constantly reminding him to eat his green beans or turkey when he'd rather just eat rolls.

The tastes your child learns to love before she is two years old will impact her eating habits for a lifetime. It may be fun to see the eager delight on a toddler's face when you give her a bite of a chocolate bar, but stop and think of the effect it will have on her future eating choices. Two years is a short time to refrain from giving any junk foods to your child, but the benefits will last forever. I encourage you to do your very best to lay this healthy foundation of good eating habits for your child.