13/01/2026
Ever been caught out saying these words? I sure have! 🙋🏻♀️
“Oh, you won’t like it!” ~ why can these words put a dampener on our kids culinary exploration?
Well, you’re straight off the bat setting them up for failure & you’re putting “fear” (excessive word, but you get me) around a new food. We don’t want to do that!
The most common culprits are:
👉🏻 parents who project their own dislikes onto their kids:
• just because you have food aversions, doesn’t mean your kid will or should have them to. It’s a beautiful lesson in teaching your kids they “hey, we don’t ALL have to like the same foods, and that’s ok! See if you like it, and you can tell me all about it.”
👉🏻 they weren’t keen on it in the past:
• goshhh, can’t tell you how many times my littles have said “yuck” to a food, physically spit it out & then tried it a week later for it to be an utter delight. Repeated (with no pressure) exposure does wonders!
👉🏻 it’s a wildly new food & you’re nervous your kids gonna spit the dummy about it
• give them the chance! Your kid disliking a food, spitting it out (in the more dramatic moments) & yelling “yuck” is not a reflection of anything! Celebrate them trying a new food, ask them what they didn’t enjoy about it! Explore with them what it might be they didn’t like. I love the flavour of mushrooms, hate the texture.
👉🏻 the label of “being fussy”
• don’t put your kid in the ‘fussy box’. Plenty of kids have preferences of food, they love their safe foods & love predictability. New foods can feel scary, you might label that as fussy. Again, without pressure & in small portions, you might be surprised at what a ‘fussy kid’ might end up trying (and loving!!) or they might not touch it, and that’s okay too.
✨ When we give our kids the chance to explore at their own pace (I find this rings true across everything), then they often surprise us with their bravery & curiosity! Small wins are big wins.
The sniff might turn to a poke of the fork which might turn to a tiny taste, that might turn to a new fav food! 🤷🏻♀️
Positive language, positive results 💫☺️
