My kid was a picky eater when he was young; he outgrew it thankfully, but getting him to even give different foods a chance used to be a real c h a l l e n g e.
Anyway, I recently happened on this video from Tom Scott, who produces the always-interesting Things You Might Not Know.
In it, he learns to enjoy coffee, which he previously disliked.
The strategy the guy helping him uses is genius, and I wonder if it would be of use to other parents.
Instead of just throwing the whole experience at him at once, he gets him to taste a range of different coffees, comparing just one aspect at a time.
Which of these has the most bitterness?
Which has the most sweetness?
Which has the most acidity?
Contrast and compare, go back and forth. Now what are the different flavours of each? Which words can you throw at them?
By getting him to compare them, on just one aspect at a time, it kicks his brain into analysis mode, prompting him to untangle and pick apart the mass of sensations rather than just rejecting the whole thing in bulk.
And by learning how the flavours work together, by thinking about and describing them, it rapidly became a familiar thing he was able to engage with and appreciate.
Watch the video, and tell me you aren't grinning like an idiot by the end of it.
If you find it hard getting your kids to give stuff a chance... maybe try the same approach? I don't know for sure if it'd work, but it's got to be worth a go, right?
Anyway, I recently happened on this video from Tom Scott, who produces the always-interesting Things You Might Not Know.
In it, he learns to enjoy coffee, which he previously disliked.
The strategy the guy helping him uses is genius, and I wonder if it would be of use to other parents.
Instead of just throwing the whole experience at him at once, he gets him to taste a range of different coffees, comparing just one aspect at a time.
Which of these has the most bitterness?
Which has the most sweetness?
Which has the most acidity?
Contrast and compare, go back and forth. Now what are the different flavours of each? Which words can you throw at them?
By getting him to compare them, on just one aspect at a time, it kicks his brain into analysis mode, prompting him to untangle and pick apart the mass of sensations rather than just rejecting the whole thing in bulk.
And by learning how the flavours work together, by thinking about and describing them, it rapidly became a familiar thing he was able to engage with and appreciate.
Watch the video, and tell me you aren't grinning like an idiot by the end of it.
If you find it hard getting your kids to give stuff a chance... maybe try the same approach? I don't know for sure if it'd work, but it's got to be worth a go, right?