Food Neophobia
What exactly is food neophobia?
Food neophobia is a fear or avoidance of new foods. It’s your body’s skepticism or distrust of something new and potentially poisonous. Like every guy you met in a bar in your 20s. Your instincts…they always knew, amirite? 😝
Back in the day, it was a super helpful instinct for tiny humans toddling around picking up random plants. They are just about to stick that spotted mushroom in their mouth when their food neophobia kicks in and they’re like, wait a second…this is new and looks different and smells different, therefore I think it might poison me. And they were probably right. Nowadays however it just causes us as parents tons of stress. We’re like, “Uh, pretty sure the FDA okay’d these delicious oyster mushrooms, so just stick one in your mouth and try it!” And our kids are using their primal instincts still and suddenly feel scared of the new food and simultaneously losing trust in us as parents because we’re pressuring them to eat the new poisonous vegetable.
Okay, so let’s unpack. We know the foods we are buying at the grocery store aren’t poisonous. The FDA has approved them for sale and consumption and if even one person died after eating it, the food would be recalled and all over facebook. So unless your kiddo has an anaphylactic food allergy, we as adults know the foods we’re offering are safe. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to reason with a 2-year old, but let me just say, you might as well be trying to reason with your goldfish, because the logic and reasoning will likely not penetrate. 😆 It will become a battle bigger than The Battle of the Morannon in Lord of the Rings…you know, the final battle in front of Mordor’s Black Gate? Nerds? Anyone? Hello?
Okay, moving on! So what do we do then? We want our kids to trust that we are offering them safe and delicious foods. And oh yeah, also eat those safe and delicious foods!
The first step is to take the pressure off your kids and also off yourselves! Yes, absolutely, stop battling at mealtime! Introduce new foods often and then repeat the offering of the same foods often. With zero pressure. Put a new food item on their plate and begin to talk about what it is, what it looks like, what it smells like, what it feels like, and what you think it might taste like. See if you can get them interested in joining the conversation at least. The biggest concern I hear from parents is that it’s a waste of food when you know your kid won’t eat it. True, and I hate wasting food. However, if you are already eating it, and you put ONE bite of the food on their plate, if they don’t eat it, you can just eat that one extra bite. No food has gone to waste and you model eating it for your kiddo. Win-win!
If your kiddo becomes very upset by the food being on their plate, give them a little side bowl they can put the food in. Even touching the new food is exposure! Next time you introduce it, it will be that much more familiar. Score.
The biggest piece here with this no pressure approach, is your kiddo will trust that you won’t force them to eat something scary, and as they begin to try new things and are not poisoned, they will trust that you only offer non-poisonous food items. Allowing them to place a scary food or food they don’t like into a bowl also builds trust that they can move at their own pace. This will not only help them trust you but also their own body as they start to develop a personal relationship with food.
While Food Neophobia can contribute to “picky eating,” there are so many strategies for making new food items less scary and thus reducing food neophobia and the chance for picky eating. If you’d like to learn more ideas and strategies for getting your kiddo more comfortable with trying new foods, sign up for the Mighty Tasters Online Feeding Program!
