Why a fussy eater won’t even try new foods

If I had a dollar for every time the parent of a fussy eater told me their child will not even try new foods, I would be living on a tropical island by now

Most parents who tell me this also say it as though it is unusual, that most children will try foods. However, in my experience, many children who are picky eaters find that first, and crucial step, very challenging.

Understanding why children are not able to even taste new foods can be really helpful because:

1. When you understand what’s happening it can make things less frustrating.

2. You can often support a child in a different way if you know why they are seemingly ‘stubborn’.

3. You can empathise with how they are feeling, which helps you to work as a team not in opposition to each other.

Let us look at some of the reasons why children may be unable or unwilling to try a new food.

But before that, I think it is helpful to define ‘new food’. For us a chicken nugget is a nugget and all of them are pretty much the same. For a super selective eater though, this is not necessarily the case.

A new nugget for them may seem like a completely different food.