Motherhood Social Media and Updates

Toddler Food Neophobia: Normal, Evolutionary, and Overcome

I thought I had feeding figured out with my first. At 1, he ate everything. Beef, chicken, sushi, curry... honestly anything you put in front of him. I was so proud of myself. Then he turned 2 and started rejecting everything. Foods he loved for months suddenly disgusted him. I was convinced I had done something wrong, but then learned that most children develop something called neophobia around age 2. Neophobia = a fear of new or unfamiliar foods It also causes them to reject foods they previously liked. Happens to most children and is thought to be an evolutionary adaptation. Once toddlers became mobile enough to put things in their mouth unsupervised, the ones who were cautious about what they ate were more likely to survive. It usually passes. The key has been learning how to offer variety without the pressure. They are more likely to re-accept foods they see you eating consistently. And try not to take it personally when they reject the meal you spent 30 minutes making. I am still working on that one myself.