One Simple Change to Get Even The Fussiest Eater To Try New Foods

If you're having trouble getting your toddler or child to eat, so they might be refusing to come to the table at all, or they might be pushing away their plate of food when they see it because there's something yucky on the plate, which is something my toddler does all the time when that sneaky cucumber gets onto her plate. Or you might have a child who refuses to eat the food that they do like because it's now contaminated by a food that has accidentally touched it, so some food that they don't like or a new piece of food. The good news is that there is actually a solution, and that is exactly what I'm going to talk about in this video. Not only will this help your child come to the table and eat food, but it will also make it easier for them to try new food. So to get our toddlers and children to eat, we first need them to come to the table, and we need to keep them calm. And the way we do this is by using a learning plate. Now a learning plate is a small plate that sits beside the main plate, and what your child does is place all the food that they're happy to eat on that main plate, and the food that they're not yet ready to eat on their learning plate. Now there is no expectation that the little one is needing to eat the food that's in their learning plate, but they are expected to learn about the food at the end of the meal. When we use a learning plate, our little ones are happy to come to the table because they know they are not going to be pressured to eat that new food that they're not yet ready to explore. The other thing a learning plate does is it helps to remove any stress or pressure that little one is feeling around mealtimes. Now this is particularly important because we want to avoid our little ones getting stressed at mealtimes, because if they get stressed, it results in the brain releasing a whole lot of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, because they move into the fight, flight, or freeze response. And when they're in this response, their digestive system effectively shuts down, and it suppresses their appetite, so they're no longer hungry or motivated to try new food. So we need them to stay calm, which is exactly what the learning plate helps to achieve. The learning plate also provides a safe opportunity for your toddler or little one to safely explore and interact with that new food. Now this is key, and that is because we know toddlers and children may need to see a new piece of food 10 to 20 times before they're even willing to try that food. Also, we know that when you're going to try a new piece of food, you actually progress through a hierarchy of steps before you're willing to eat it. So firstly, you need to be able to tolerate looking at that new food, then interacting with that new food with the utensil, and then move on to smelling that food, touching that food, tasting the food, and then you will eventually eat the food. Now you may progress through those steps quickly, but the learning plate provides an opportunity for your little one to move through those steps and reduce that fear around that new piece of food, which means that they're going to be more willing to taste and interact with the food, and then eventually eat it. So how do you use a learning plate at home? I would recommend that you use a learning plate for at least one meal a day, and that meal should be a family style meal, which is where everyone eats together and they're eating the same food. Now this is because it's really important for your little one to see you eating food that they're not yet eating, because if they never see you eat the food that you're expecting them to eat, then then of course they're not going to eat it. They need to see you eating that food to know that it is safe and okay for them to eat. Now what typically happens is you place all the plates on the table, you give your little one that learning plate, and then you serve out the food. Now it's important that the food that you are serving includes at least one of your little one's preferred foods, because that will bring them to the table because they know that there is something that they are able to eat and they're happy to eat. And then your little one will direct you to the food that they don't want to eat, and you would place that food in their learning bowl. Then you would all sit down and eat the food. There is no pressure to look at the learning bowl at this point. The whole point at this time is to just eat the food that's on your main plate. Once everyone is finished, then you focus on the learning plate, and you are guided by how willing your child is to interact with that food. So if they're only happy to look at that food, then that is all you do, and you just talk about that food. But if they're happy to look and interact with that food by poking it with a fork, then that's fantastic. And you would gradually try and get your child to move up the steps so that they're interacting, then smelling, then touching with their hands, then tasting, and then finally eating. But if your little one refuses to go up those steps, that's fine. You do not push them or pressure them at that point, because that is going to undo all your good work. What is the main goal of this exercise is that your little one is actually tolerating having the food near them and gradually moving up those steps. Now when your little one is interacting with that food, it is important that you avoid any negative language around that food. And that is because if they hear you say that food is slimy or that food is smelly, then it infers that the food is kind of not great, and it's something they should avoid. Now there are some great utensils and plates out there that you can use with your little one which will help with the mealtime, and they are in the description box below. Now if you have introduced the learning plate and your little one still refuses to sit at the table or they're constantly moving around or going up into kneeling, then it is an indication that they are not yet supported properly in their chair. And this is going to have a huge impact on how willing your little one is to try new food. So if you want advice on how to make it a whole lot better and set up that chair, then check out this link here. Make sure you click on the free PDF document in the description box below for those utensils and cutlery items that is going to make mealtimes easier. And I will see you next week where I'll share more parenting tips and tricks.