Latest / Talking FACS / How to respond when your child says ”I don’t like it!”

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How to respond when your child says ”I don’t like it!” · Talking FACS

• 0:01
  Welcome to talking facts.
• 0:03
  What you need to know about family food,
• 0:05
  finance and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized award winning podcast is hosted by the University of Kentucky Family and consumer sciences extension program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals,
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  families and communities to improve quality of life.
• 0:24
  Hello and welcome to talking facts.
• 0:26
  What you need to know about family food,
• 0:28
  finance and fitness.
• 0:30
  I am Mindy McCulley,
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  extension specialist for instructional support,
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  the family and consumer sciences extension at the University of Kentucky.
• 0:37
  My guest today is dr Courtney looking assistant extension professor and specialist for maternal and child health.
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  Welcome Courtney.
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  Hello,
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  Mindy.
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  So we are gonna talk about that dreaded No word.
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  Oh yes,
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  observing kids food,
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  right?
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  Yes,
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  that can be a really emotional experience for sure,
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  definitely can.
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  So our topic is how to respond when a child says I don't like it and I know I raised two boys and now I have a granddaughter and there are some times when Children just simply don't like food.
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  And so what are we gonna do,
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  What are we gonna do when the child doesn't like everything on the plate?
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  Yes.
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  So mindy first,
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  I want to ask,
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  how does it feel for you when they say no or they don't like it or they don't want it.
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  So as a grandmother,
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  I respond a whole lot differently than I did as a mother of course,
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  as a mother.
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  I take it personally.
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  Like they don't like whatever it is I'm cooking or they don't like the way I prepare something Now,
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  I'm like,
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  okay,
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  we'll just go onto something else.
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  So yes,
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  as I have aged,
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  either I've gotten more mellow or maybe I've realized that not everybody has the same taste buds and it's gonna be okay and she'll be fine,
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  we'll find something that she likes to eat on the plate somewhere.
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  Your experience is very valuable.
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  And but hearing your kind of initial reactions as the parent in this situation,
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  emotions can come into play,
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  feeling a variety,
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  frustration,
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  disappointment,
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  anger,
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  sadness and more.
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  And so I think how do we navigate this first is to acknowledge these feelings so that we don't go into like a power struggle with our Children.
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  So take a breath and then get curious about what exactly they do not like about it.
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  So find out,
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  ask the questions you don't like this,
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  What is it that we don't like about it Exactly.
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  Because a few basic questions can help identify usually a quick and easy solution that does not require throwing out the food or feeling like a short order cook.
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  So what are those questions that we need to ask?
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  Let's start with flavor taste is one of our biggest drivers of what and why we eat.
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  And there are five categories.
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  We have sweet,
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  salty,
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  sour,
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  savory and bitter.
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  Each of those flavor profiles,
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  send a specific message to the brain about how rewarding or risky a certain food might be.
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  So we think about those sour and more bitter foods,
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  those could be a sign of danger where sweet is really,
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  really rewarding and Children typically prefer sweet and salty flavor?
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  So remembering that can be helpful to us don't change that much as we get over right,
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  We still like the sweet and the salty.
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  We do,
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  we do.
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  And so if a child has a strong reaction to tasting of food,
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  start to ask questions,
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  it's going to depend on the child's age,
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  whether you can just ask them,
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  what don't you like about it or whether we need to try to offer options to help them process,
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  Was it too spicy?
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  Was it too salty in the future?
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  We could just change our,
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  how we season and prepare the foods.
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  Did it taste blah,
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  did it taste like nothing,
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  then we can try to offer it with a dip or a Sprinkle of cheese or something,
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  was it too bitter?
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  You know,
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  maybe their mouth,
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  maybe their face will give you a visual cue as to what kind of flavor they were experiencing.
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  And so in the future we could cook foods in a different way.
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  So,
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  cauliflower is a great example of this.
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  We could serve it raw,
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  steamed mashed or roasted still the same food,
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  but each of those preparation methods offers a different taste or flavor profile and I think that's a great example because I don't like cauliflower raw,
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  but I love it when it seems,
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  even as an adult it makes a difference.
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  So beyond flavor.
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  I know that there are other things that affect why a child might like.
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  So what are some other things that we should be looking for or ask?
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  Let's move on to texture because that's another biggie foods can come in a variety of textures liquid or smooth or creamy,
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  slimy,
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  that doesn't sound very appealing.
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  But there can be slimy foods or lumpy or bumpy or crunchy or crispy and so just like anything else.
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  Children need to get familiar and used to how those different textures feel,
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  not only in their hands,
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  but also in their mouth.
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  And so letting kids play with those foods or even non foods that have the same texture can help them get more comfortable.
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  And I know that I say that I don't like beans,
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  but it's the texture of beans that I don't like.
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  So if I try to prepare beans in a different way for talking about green beans,
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  not cooked to death,
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  but still kind of crunchy,
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  then I really do like them.
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  Or black beans.
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  I like them raw.
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  Not raw but almost raw in a in a salsa as opposed to refried in something else.
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  Yes,
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  that's so important.
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  Mindy.
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  I'm glad you said that because just like the different flavors,
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  we can prepare the same food in different ways and get different textures and so part of it might just be exploring,
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  you know,
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  a micro microwave can get you very mushy or not so much.
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  Same with like a stovetop where grilling will taste different than an oven for example and then plating food differently so making sure okay unless it's needed,
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  let's not have all smooth consistency.
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  Foods on a plate,
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  having a variety of textures is also helpful.
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  Well and then we also need to think about temperature,
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  don't we?
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  Because that can really affect how not only how things taste,
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  but whether or not we we can taste them at all if we go to hot.
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  Exactly,
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  exactly.
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  And Children typically don't like very cold or very hot foods so we want to try to find the Goldilocks sweet spot for them,
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  you know,
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  ask them.
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  Is the food too hot?
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  We can easily set it aside or in our house we call it the rapid chill where we might put it in the freezer really quick to help rapidly cool it down.
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  Probably not great for food safety over the long term,
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  but a quick a quick chill isn't harmful if it's too cold.
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  We can warm it up.
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  So these are all the small things I was talking about where we don't necessarily have to toss the food out.
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  We just need to kind of find what we can do to make it more appealing and enjoyable to eat well.
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  And it might be that we'll find that we like something's prepared a different way or served a different way sometimes that's just how it looks.
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  Might affect how we all enjoy the food.
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  So this might be a learning curve for the whole family,
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  right?
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  Yes,
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  kind of those unintended benefits.
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  That's right.
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  Well I,
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  I do love to try new things and sometimes I like them and sometimes I don't and so we need to remember that kids are the same way.
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  They're not always going to like everything new that that we offer them,
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  don't let your feelings get hurt.
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  Right?
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  And I think if we can not about us,
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  it's about that cauliflower,
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  but no,
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  I think in one other way is just to reframe,
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  like you said,
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  it's not personal and that we're truly just exploring that,
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  you know,
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  learning to eat,
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  learning to like new things is,
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  it's a process.
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  It's a skill and so if we can act like detectives,
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  We can certainly help Children navigate that process and it can be a little less stressful when we hear that word.
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  No,
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  I agree.
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  100%.
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  And the older you get,
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  the easier it is to hear.
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  Yes,
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  it's all good to know Courtney,
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  thanks for sharing all of this in information that will hopefully benefit kids as well as their parents as they learn to navigate new foods and trying different things to our listeners.
• 8:46
  If you are just tuning in.
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  I hope that you will join us again on talking facts,
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• 8:55
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• 8:57
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