REPEATED TASTES
Liking grows with tries
Reviews of the research found that tasting the same vegetable 8 to 10 or more times is likely to increase how much young children accept it.
Count your triesWHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS
A first no
is not the last word.
It is perfectly normal, the NHS says, for toddlers to refuse to taste new foods.
8–10 small tastes, often enough
8–10+ days Days of tasting likely to raise acceptance of a food
- Small tastes, many times
- No pressure, no bribes
- Eat it with them
- Liking is learned
The good news from the research is that liking can be learned. Small, calm, repeated tastes of the same food, often 8 to 10 of them, help many children come round to it.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Offer it again.
And again.
Refusing new foods is normal for toddlers.
Repeated, relaxed tasting is the strategy with the best evidence.
VARIETY
Start with the bitter ones
NHS weaning guidance suggests starting with vegetables that are not so sweet, such as broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, to get babies used to a range of tastes.
See the evidence
COPYING
They learn from you
The NHS says the best way for a child to learn to eat and enjoy new foods is to copy you, so eat together as often as you can.
What to tryA QUICK TRY COUNTER
How many tastes
so far?
Pick roughly how many times your child has tasted a particular new food. The bar shows how far along you are towards the 8 to 10 tastes the research points to.
Based on a 2018 University of Leeds meta-analysis and a 2019 systematic review for infants and toddlers.
FOUR THINGS THAT HELP
Calm, small,
and often.
These come straight from NHS guidance on fussy eaters and weaning, and fit what the research on repeated tasting found.
Keep portions small
Give small portions and praise your child for eating, even if they only eat a little.
Do not force it
If the food is rejected, take it away without saying anything and try it again another time.
Do not use food as a reward
The NHS warns it can teach children to think of sweets as nice and vegetables as nasty. Reward with a trip to the park instead.
Think in weeks, not meals
It is more helpful to think about what a child eats over a week than in a single day.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
The tries add up,
across thousands of children.
One figure on how many tastes,
one on how many children were studied.
8–10+ days
Days of tasting likely to raise acceptance of a food
A systematic review of 21 studies found moderate evidence that tasting a vegetable or fruit once a day for 8 to 10 or more days is likely to increase acceptance in children aged 4 to 24 months.
INFANTS AND TODDLERS · AJCN 2019
4,017 children
Children in the studies pooled by a meta-analysis of vegetable strategies
Across 30 articles, repeated taste exposure had better pooled effects than other strategies. Unfamiliar or disliked vegetables gained more than familiar ones.
PRESCHOOL CHILDREN · APPETITE 2018
The 2018 meta-analysis also found intake was greater when vegetables were offered plain rather than paired with a flavour, dip or added oil.
WHY IT WORKS
Familiar food
feels safer.
The 2019 review found the effect of repeated tasting is likely to carry over to other foods in the same category, such as other vegetables, but not to foods from a different category.
The NHS reminds parents that children's tastes change: one day they will hate something, and a month later they may love it. If your child is active, gaining weight and seems well, it says, they are getting enough to eat.
Questions
Questions people ask
Is it normal for a toddler to refuse new foods?
Yes. The NHS says it is perfectly normal for toddlers to refuse to eat or even taste new foods, and suggests thinking about what they eat over a week rather than a day.
How many times should I offer a new food?
Research reviews point to a minimum of 8 to 10 tastes. A 2018 meta-analysis found intake increased with the number of taste exposures.
Should I hide vegetables in other food or add a dip?
The 2018 meta-analysis found intake was greater when vegetables were offered in their plain form rather than paired with a flavour, dip or added energy such as oil.
Is it OK to reward eating vegetables with a treat?
The NHS advises against using food as a reward, because a child may start to think of sweets as nice and vegetables as nasty. It suggests non-food rewards instead.
Which vegetables should a baby start with?
NHS weaning guidance suggests starting with vegetables that are not so sweet, such as broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, and offering a variety including ones with bitter flavours.
Where the facts come from
Updated
- NHS: Fussy eaters
- NHS Best Start in Life: Feeding your baby from around 6 months
- Nekitsing et al. (2018), Strategies to increase vegetable consumption in preschool children, Appetite
- Spill et al. (2019), Repeated exposure to food and food acceptability in infants and toddlers, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition