Feeding 0-3 years and the importance of taste education

From 4 months to around 18 months, this is known as the open period. It's the ideal time to introduce as many foods as possible (permitted ones, of course!). Children are generally easygoing during this phase and show very few genuine food refusals. What's more, they self-regulate far better than adults and have a good sense of when they are hungry and when they have had enough!

From 18–24 months, a sensitive closure phase begins. No need to worry — this is a normal stage of development and an inevitable step in building their food preferences.

The child progressively refuses everything new that is offered to them (this is the well-known "food neophobia"), becomes increasingly selective in their eating and tends to want only foods with mild flavours (accepting mainly starchy foods and animal proteins, and very few vegetables!). Finally, the child is less able to recognise whether they are still hungry or not, partly because adults tend to offer them snacks more and more often: bread, biscuits, and so on.

If they don't seem to like a food, apply the principle of repeated exposure: offer the refused food regularly in the same form, then in different forms (raw, pan-fried, gratin… be creative 😊). It is only after 8 or 10 refusals that you can know for certain that a child dislikes a food!

As much as possible, try to make mealtimes an enjoyable moment: eat together, make plates look appealing, and encourage your child to try everything ("mmm, that's yummy!"). Children learn by imitation: seeing adults eat (and enjoy) a food makes them want to try it too. On the other hand, avoid screens or toys at the table, as they distract from the feeling of fullness — when we're not paying attention to what we're eating, we can no longer tell whether we're still hungry or not.

It's easier said than done, but as you'll have gathered, perseverance is key when it comes to developing a taste for food.

Remember that the phase of food refusal, while challenging, is a normal part of a child's development, and generally lasts until around the age of 4. This highlights the importance of not overlooking exposure to a varied range of foods during pregnancy, breastfeeding and weaning. It also means persevering through this phase of rejection. The aim is to make this period of food neophobia as short and mild as possible, so that once it passes, the child — and the adult they will become — returns to a healthy, balanced diet, just as in their first year of life!