Izzy (and Mama) Eat: The Gourmand Goes To College...

Tales of Empty Nest and College Boy Eats.. The Next Chapter

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Creating a Taste Memory

Simple. You eat something once, you like it so much that you want to eat it again. Not always that easy with kids, sometimes they require many tastes. In fact, and I may have said this before, it may take as many as 12 tastes (or more) of a particular food before your child will come to accept it and like it. If you persist, it can and will happen.

Take the case of Izzy and toast. I love toast for breakfast. As soon as Izzy was old enough, I would put toast out for him with whatever he had for his morning meal. At first he would pick it up, examine it, nibble and put it down. Sometimes he would fling it down. He did not seem particularly keen on it.

How could my child not eat toast? It was a staple of my diet. I would not give up. I put that toast out day in and day out. Country bread, mixed grain slices, day-old baguettes all made their way to Izzy's plate. Finally, more bites were taken. Months passed and then he just started to eat it, and get this, he sometimes even eats the crusts!!

Now on some mornings toast is all he wants for breakfast.

2 comments:

Rebecca said...

Leland never did and still doesn't like butter, so buttered toast, one of the world's greatest foods, was a complete washout with him. Eventually, when he learned to speak English, he communicated to me that he would enjoy toast with peanut butter on it, and I believe that at age 26 that's still the way he eats it...

Izzy's Mama said...

Rebecca: I can't imagine a life without butter. I think there may still be hope. Does Leland not use butter on anything? I think drastic measures need to be taken. There is such a vast array of incredible butters available now, something should suit his fancy. It is never too late to change.
I grew to love blue cheese and anchovies past the age of 26!