Parents seeking to tantalize their offspring’s taste buds are usually foodies themselves. Some mothers start children’s gastronomic education while still pregnant, eating spicy and garlicky meals, and continue to do so while nursing, citing research that suggests children exposed to many tastes through breast milk or in the womb are less likely to be picky eaters…

Though a quick perusal of restaurant blogs underscores the consternation created by children’s infiltration of restaurants that used to be adult oases, their owners say children are mostly well behaved…

Pediatricians warn that parents should talk to their doctors about the proper times to introduce foods, as advice varies about many foods, including fish, as well as potential allergens like wheat, soy, milk and eggs. Parents should also know that exposing children to an adventurous menu — celery root, artisanal cheese, shrimp dumplings — won’t automatically produce an adventurous eater, or even a nonpicky one…

“Some kids have sensitive palates or they don’t like texture. That isn’t developmental, that’s temperamental,” said Jean Kunhardt, a director of the SoHo Parenting Center, which conducts child-rearing classes in downtown Manhattan. “Parents have to be sensitive to that.”

She added that most children go through a picky phase no matter what, starting at around 2 and sometimes lasting for years. If parents “try not to care too much about them eating or not eating,” Ms. Kunhardt said, the odds are better they will not be picky. Struggling with children over food or being overly manipulative exacerbates the problem, she said.

Source: New York Times
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