Feeding Children and Exposure

Research tells us that most children require a minimum of 15-20 exposures to a food before they will accept it. If your child has special needs, it may be even more than this. As a parent it can be frustrating and disheartening to lovingly prepare a food and have it refused over and over again, and we often assume that they do not like the food and remove it from the menu.

In fact, research shows us that more parents will not offer the same food again after it has been rejected five times. No wonder our children have such limited palates!

I know it's difficult, my children frequently remind me "you KNOW I don't like <insert food offered>" but within the year they have decided they love it. Or sometimes not.

So how can you tell when you've offered enough times and the child genuinely doesn't like it, or when you just haven't quite offered it enough times?

Exposure monitoring can ensure that you don't limit your child's diet prematurely. One way to do this is in a bullet journal. Most habit trackers can be repurposed as an exposure monitor.

You can also download and print my exposure monitor and keep it taped inside a kitchen cabinet to check off each time you attempt to serve a food.