Helping Kids Adjust to New Food

That first morning with our new girls in Ethiopia I made instant oatmeal for breakfast. The nine year old came to the breakfast table, raised her eyebrows, then said “I no eat”. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was only the beginning of months of picky eating.

Since that unfortunate beginning, I have learned that my girls are actually good eaters. They almost always will take at least a small taste of unfamiliar foods. (In my opinion that is half the battle.) And usually when they taste things, they discover they like them just fine. However, I have deliberately done several things that I think have contributed in part to their comfort with the new foods they have encountered.

First of all, now that we’re home we serve meals buffet-style. The food is lined up on the counter and kids go down the line picking what they would like and in what quantities. I almost never plop a whole serving of something on the girls’ plates. They choose what they want themselves.

Second, I always make sure there are at least two familiar, well-liked foods to choose from at each meal. Some of the staples that make frequent appearances include rice, rolls, scrambled eggs, peanut butter, oranges, and bananas. I don’t stress if the girls opt to take only rice and oranges, as they sometimes did in the first week home. Gradually as food has begun to look and smell more familiar they have taken larger servings of other items.

Finally, at least every 3 days or so, I cook Ethiopian food, usually in large enough quantities that there can be a bit of left-over food to offer as one of the ‘familiar’ items at a meal another day. I’m sure I don’t cook Ethiopian food quite like they are used to, but I’m betting that not-quite-right firfir is still a lot more familiar than a big slab of cheesy lasagna at a meal.

I am also fortunate in that my new daughters are good cooks already. When they get a hankering for Ethiopian food, the older one will ask to cook something. I am more than happy to step aside and hand over the skillet and cutting board to her. Usually I learn a thing or two about Ethiopian cooking along the way, which will make my next attempt that much more authentic.

I know I’m fortunate to have kids who are adventurous enough to try new foods. But I really believe that offering a wide range of simple food at each meal and then not pressuring the child to eat will go a long way towards reducing stress and helping a child become gradually comfortable with new food.

Related links
New kids: what to feed them
New kids, hunger, and overeating
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