Parents of children know what I’m referring to. While your kid could be a great food explorer, most children in America are raised on bland cereals, jarred baby food, and standard unseasoned toddler fare. Then they grow up, and when you go to a restaurant, it’s straight to the children’s menu – chicken fingers and fries.
It’s the important first stages of feeding children that they develop their palate, but we often start on the foods mentioned above, which means you have to train children’s palates again when they get older. It’s unnecessary, and leads to picky eaters who will more than likely not want to try new foods based on their “weird textures, strange colors, and OMG WHAT’S THAT SMELL.”
Training children’s palates the first time, as they begin eating solid foods, can create a more adventurous eater.
Introducing a variety of flavors, textures, and spices can be an immense help when they get older, and don't run the other direction from unknown foods.
My son Parker’s first meal was the same first meal my mother gave me - pureed chicken, garlic and onion soup. I never fed him jarred food – he ate what we ate, including most of the recipes on this website, pureed until he could chew. Parker is a great food explorer, unafraid of new tastes and textures.
Does he like everything we give him? Absolutely not. But he is willing to try new items. Some of his current favorite foods are sushi, fresh tacos with cilantro and lime, and clam chowder. He likes well-seasoned food, and puts enough hot salsa on his empanadas to make me cry.
The goal of any parent should be to have your child eat what you eat at meal times. The ease with which that happens depends on what they’re exposed to, and when. Start them early with flavors, spices, and diverse fare, and they will develop true food daredevil habits – or at least will spare you from having to find a restaurant “they will eat at.”
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