and on the same logic a broken biscuit is different from a whole one. For children who are particularly sensitive to this logic then a new brand of fish fingers may have a different shade of bread crumbs and so be rejected and if they are used to pasta spirals and you find you’ve run out and try to serve a different shape pasta then its tantrum time.
OK – you won’t eat your carrots but why won’t you eat the rest of the dinner?
If a food they think of as “unsafe” has been in touch with another food that is trusted then it might have contaminated the safe food. It isn’t enough to just remove the offending carrots from the plate as the meat and potatoes are now suspect too. Try to serve foods at edges of the plate not touching each other, segmented plates can help if your little one is very fussy, or introduce potential new foods on a side plate.
Whats wrong with the gravy?
Evolution has somehow pre-programmed us to be weary in toddler years of foods which are “slimy” as slimy could mean foods are rotting (like the bag of carrots forgotten about in the bottom of the fridge). For this reason, some children will be reluctant to eat foods like custard, ketchup and gravy. Now imagine you’ve already poured the gravy all over their dinner contaminating the whole plate. Serve gravy or condiments in a small ramekin or egg cup to let them try without contaminating their whole dinner
By Sarah Steadman, Paediatrician