Does your child balk at the sight of green veggies? Or, does a night at a new restaurant bring on a case of the "I don't like it's"?

I can remember that when I was a small child, there were a few foods that were hard for me to like. To this day, I never have acquired a taste for parsnips! My parents, however, helped me develop a tastes for most foods and most types of cuisine.  This has been helpful to me in adult life when dining in various places and when enjoying different types of cuisine.  When my own children came along, I employed the same technique, and, they, too, have grown up with well rounded food tastes. 

Strong food likes and dislikes are common among young children. This is not always a bad thing, as they generally are somewhat in tune with what their bodies can and cannot handle in the way of eating. However, it's helpful for parents to gently encourage children to eat a well-rounded diet. It's also helpful to the child to try new food experiences, so that he or she can enjoy dining in many different situations when older.

A 2004 report by the American Journal of Pediatrics says that our food preferences start forming even before we eat solid food. Of course, with infants and younger toddlers, new tastes and new foods need to be introduced only according to doctor's advice.

Older toddlers and preschoolers are ripe for exploring new culinary delights, however. According to a 2006 study from University College and Kings College in London, it seems that children inherit a genetic taste for protien rich foods, such as meat and fish. When it comes to vegetables and desserts, children's likes and dislikes seem to come about through influence rather than by genetics. Thus, we can do much in the later two areas to help children acquire healthy tastes.

Here are five ways to help children overcome a picky palette.

1) If an older person's appetite fails due to age or ill health, sometimes the skillful use of spices will restore a person's interest in food. Children, on the other hand, have very sensitive taste buds. We are born with more taste buds as babies than we still have when we reach adulthood. Thus, what may seem enticing to a thirty-year-old might totally overwhelm a child. In some cases, very spciy food might even be painful for the child to chew. Be sensitive to this when preparing food for your child to try. Perhaps, a more lightly seasoned version of what the rest of the family is having might suit a picky eater better.

2) Allow the child to have "No, thank you helpings". Encourage your picky eater to take one bite of everything that is served to the family as a whole. After one taste, if the child does not want any more, allow him or her to say, "No, thank you." Do this at every meal. Eventually, your child will come to like more and more foods and will say, "More, please".  This is the technique my parents used for me, and it worked very well. 

3) Involve preschoolers in helping to grow food. Plant a garden as a family. Grow herbs in pots on a windowsill. A child will likebly be excited about eating something he or she had a hand in planting and nurturing.

4) In the same way, let children help with preparing a meal. Supervise the child carefully. Do not let a young child handle knives or hot foods, and keep the child away from a hot stove or oven. Turn the handles of pots and pans inward, so the child cannot reach up and accidentally tip over a pan of hot water or food. A child might safely tear lettuce (with washed hands!) into a salad bowl or place a cherry on top of a salad or sprinkle cheese that is already grated onto a casserole. If a child is allowed to do safe and simple tasks to help get the meal ready, he or she may be more likely to enjoy the foods that are prepared.vv

5) Do not make mealtimes into an emotional issue, and do not let them become power struggles between you and your child.  If your child doesn't love something immediately, it's not the end of the world. .The best way to help a picky eater is to create a relaxed and happy mealtime environment. If you enjoy your own dinner, your child will likely imitate your own healthy attitudes toward food -- when he or she is developmentally ready.  On the other hand, do not feel that you need to prepare a separate meal just for your picky eater if he or she is old enough to eat what the rest of the family is having.  Place the food on the table, use the "No, thank you helping" technique, and allow the chlid to eat as much or as little as he or she chooses.  Provided that your child is of a healthy weight and a healthy constitution, it won't hurt your child to be a little hungry until the next scheduled snack or meal.  

Here's to a Merry Home!