Imagine I’m standing in front of you. I hold up a jar and ask if you want to taste the contents. The spin? You can’t see the contents at all.
What if I told you it was delicious? Do you like surprises?
What if I showed you a sneak peak of what is in the jar?
Would you be more likely to take a taste?
I think, by now, you’ve figured out my point. (I’m not very subtle.)
Tasting new foods can be intimidating. Read my story about trying fried crickets
Sometimes in live workshops I continue this exercise by unveiling food that looks absolutely disgusting. Think apple sauce that I “doctor up” with chunky bits of nuts and seeds and then I use food coloring to turn my concoction black…or brown…or puke green.
Shhh, don’t say anything. Maybe he won’t notice this pasta isn’t his usual brand.
Sound familiar? Or, maybe she won’t notice that we are serving fish sticks instead of chicken nuggets. Forget it, kids always notice.
One time, a client told me that she tried giving her toddler mushroom ravioli instead of his normal cheese ravioli. He spit it out. She concluded that her son didn’t like the ravioli. I thought, maybe he was just surprised.
Instead of springing change on your children, or asking them to taste something “blind,” provide as much information as you can.
Describe. Describe. Describe. Read Look into My Crystal Ball. And check out my Super Taster Kit.
Kids don’t want surprises (particularly if they’re caught in a control struggle). What children want is the opposite: they want predictability. For what to say instead of, “Just try it,” check out my Free Download page.
For more on this topic…
Read You Can’t Make Me Eat It! and Surprise! Surprise!
~Changing the conversation from nutrition to habits.~
