Influencing the Picky eater

Both genetics and our environment influence how our children eat. The British researcher Lucy Cooke published a study in 2007 reporting that a large part of how our children perceive and accept food is inherited but this trait can be influenced significantly by other factors such as seeing Mom and Dad eat a variety of foods and by repeatedly offering foods that were initially rejected. Dr Cooke found that when parents were asked to expose young children to previously unpopular vegetables by offering small pieces everyday for fourteen days, not only did the children increase how much they liked the food, but also eating habits in general got better and parents were offering other foods more often before giving up. I had a parent who actually carried out this experiment and she said after 15 tries her daughter really did like the new food ( it was green beans)
Remember too that children eat unpredictably often more at one meal and less at another - if this sounds like your child and s/he is growing and appears happy then take comfort in knowing s/he is not sick or being unusual s/he is actually behaving very normal.