Foods Jags: What Are They and How to Prevent Them
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your child insists on eating the same food for weeks and then suddenly refuses to even look at it?
It can be baffling, but fear not, your child isn't alone in experiencing what is referred to as a "food jag."
WHAT IS A FOOD JAG?
A food jag occurs when a child becomes fixated on a particular food or a very limited range of foods for an extended period. It's a common occurrence in many households, often leaving parents bewildered. So, what's the science behind these food jags?
In a prior conversation, we explored the significance of dopamine, a neuromodulator (a chemical that influences how various parts of the brain communicate) that plays a pivotal role in our brain's reward system (learn more about domanine’s role in the development of children’s food preferences here). When we eat something we enjoy, dopamine is released, sending a signal to our brain that says, "I like this!" This positive experience encourages us to seek out that same source of pleasure in the future.
When a child consistently chooses specific foods, it's their brain's way of saying, “This food feels safe and yummy and I want to keep experiencing this.” However, the mystery lies in why they suddenly reject these once-loved items.
THE DOPAMINE DIP
As children repeatedly consume their preferred food, the amount of dopamine released gradually diminishes. This reduction in the pleasure derived from the food leads to waning interest and the desire to explore new options. This natural mechanism compels children to seek out diverse foods, as no one food contains everything we need, and various food sources provide a unique set of nutrients.
It's a remarkable manifestation of our brain's role as a survival tool, ensuring we obtain the necessary nutrients for growth and development.
THE ROAD TO A LIMITED DIET
Dealing with a food jag can be challenging, especially when children adamantly refuse to eat anything else. They insist on their beloved food, and over time, they may eliminate once-enjoyed options, resulting in an increasingly limited diet that can cause parental concern.
Understanding the science behind food jags is vital. As we've discovered, excessive consumption of a particular food diminishes the brain's pleasure response, resulting in a loss of interest. If not addressed in a way that encourages curiosity and familiarity with new foods, this phenomenon can lead to a limited food selection for your child. This emphasizes the importance of continuously exposing children to new foods to prevent food jags, as they can impede a child's nutrient intake. A wide variety of foods offer essential nutrients, and restricting choices can affect overall nutrition.
Now, let's delve into strategies for averting or mitigating food jags and ensuring your child maintains a diverse and nourishing diet.
STRATEGIES TO PREVENT FOOD JAGS
Maintain the Division of Responsibility
The Division of Responsibility, pioneered by Ellyn Satter, outlines the distinct roles for parents and children in the feeding dynamic. Parents are responsible for determining the "what," "where," and "when" of food, acting as guardians of the household's food choices. In contrast, children have the autonomy to decide whether, what, and how much they eat from what has been provided, a process crucial for children to become competent eaters.
In the early stages of learning, many children tend to gravitate towards familiar and "safe" foods because they haven't yet mastered or have been exposed to a wide variety. They rely on parents and caregivers to provide opportunities for discovering new foods. Allowing children to entirely dictate their food choices often results in a preference for easily liked foods leading to food jags, which limits their exposure to more challenging options.
Conversely, when parents dictate how much a child should eat, it disrupts the Division of Responsibility and can strain the parent-child feeding relationship. This, in turn, hinders the child's journey to becoming a competent eater.
Striking this balance between parental guidance and child autonomy is pivotal. It fosters a harmonious parent-child feeding relationship, nurtures healthy eating habits, and sets the stage for a lifetime of balanced nutrition.
Embracing Authoritarian Parenting:
There are three well-known parenting styles, each of which plays a role in feeding practices:
Authoritarian Parenting: Characterized by high demands, strict rules, limited communication, and often, disciplinary measures.
Permissive Parenting: Defined by leniency, minimal rules, high child autonomy, and a potential lack of structure.
Authoritative Parenting: Often seen as the "Goldilocks" of parenting styles, it strikes a balanced approach. It involves clear rules, responsiveness, open communication, warmth, and support. This style has been linked not only to positive outcomes in emotional regulation, self-esteem, and academic performance but also in fostering feeding competency.
Authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative parenting styles all have distinct approaches to feeding practices and handling food jags. Authoritarian parents, characterized by their strict rules and limited communication, may respond to a food jag by demanding that the child eat other foods, potentially leading to power struggles. Permissive parents, on the other hand, who emphasize child autonomy and leniency, may give in to the child's food preferences, temporarily avoiding conflicts but reinforcing the food jag. Both authoritative and permissive parents step outside the Division of Responsibility.
Authoritative parenting, often considered a balanced approach, is most likely to address a food jag patiently and supportively. These parents acknowledge the child's preference while gently encouraging them to try other foods, offering alternatives, and involving the child in meal planning. This approach maintains a healthy balance between setting boundaries and respecting autonomy, fostering a positive feeding relationship and gradually expanding the child's food choices. Authoritative parenting has been associated with positive outcomes not only in feeding competency but also in emotional regulation, self-esteem, and academic performance.
Fostering a Diverse Palate During Sensitive Periods
A sensitive period in feeding development corresponds to a specific phase during a child's early years when they are exceptionally open to exploring and embracing new foods while displaying reduced resistance or fear responses. This phase is characterized by heightened curiosity and willingness to experience a variety of tastes, textures, and flavors.
Sensitive periods in food acceptance are observed in three primary areas: taste, texture, and appearance.
Sensitive Period for Taste Acceptance:
Between the ages of 4 to 6 months, children are at their peak receptivity for experiencing new flavors, making it an opportune moment for parents to initiate "flavor training." During this phase, children's taste buds exhibit heightened adaptability, allowing them to become more accepting of new tastes, especially those that are more challenging such as bitter vegetables.
Although the 4 to 6-month window is considered the prime time for children to readily accept new tastes, it's important to note that their capacity to develop a fondness for new flavors doesn't diminish afterward. Children's taste buds remain remarkably adaptable, but it may take increased exposure—typically around 10 to 15 attempts, although this can vary among individuals—before they develop a preference for a particular taste.
Sensitive Period for Texture Acceptance:
In terms of sensitivity to food textures, this developmental window usually spans from around 6 months when children become ready for solid foods until they reach 12 months.
A study of the development of chewing in children aged 6 months to 2 years found that while chewing efficiency increased over the entire period between 6 months to 2 years, the most marked changes occurred between 6-10 months (Gisel, 1991). These results suggest that infants are particularly receptive and capable of acquiring and refining their chewing abilities during these early months. It also highlights the importance of providing appropriate opportunities and introducing a variety of textures and foods during this sensitive period to support the development of effective chewing skills, which is needed to maintain a diverse diet.
Sensitive Period for Visual Acceptance:
When it comes to the visual component of food acceptance, it's crucial to introduce a variety of foods before children reach 18-20 months of age. After this point, toddlers tend to become more skeptical about new foods, transitioning into a stage known as "neophobia." This skepticism serves as a protective mechanism against unfamiliar foods that could potentially be harmful.
The importance of introducing diverse foods early during sensitive periods lies in the fact that it helps children become more flexible eaters. When children are exposed to a range of flavors, textures, and food types during these critical periods, they are less likely to become overly attached to a single food item. Instead, they develop a broader and more adaptable palate.
In contrast, if children are only exposed to a limited range of foods during their sensitive periods, they may become strongly attached to those specific foods, making it difficult for them to accept new or different items later on. This limited food repertoire can lead to food jags, where a child insists on eating the same food repeatedly, often causing frustration and concern for parents.
To prevent food jags and encourage a varied and balanced diet, it's important to introduce a wide variety of foods during these sensitive periods. Does this mean that infants will automatically reject new foods if certain ones aren't introduced during this time? Not necessarily. It may just require more repetition, patience, support, and consistency for a child to develop a liking for those foods.
Balancing Exploration and Familiarity
Encouraging children to explore new foods is a fundamental aspect of developing their food preferences to be wide and diverse. However, it's equally essential to strike a balance by ensuring that familiar, beloved foods are integrated into each meal. The secret lies in skillfully rotating these cherished items between different meals or days. This approach not only keeps their favorite foods exciting but also guards against the risk of losing interest due to drops in levels of dopamine, the pleasure reward hormone that keeps us coming back for more.
It's important to recognize that children exhibit varying levels of readiness when it comes to accepting new foods. By offering familiar options children can have a sense of reassurance that they have something they can fill their tummies with and when they are ready, they will begin to explore more novel foods that are eaten by the family.
Rotate Meals with Unfamiliar Foods
We've discussed the significance of introducing new foods, but it's equally vital to maintain a level of consistency in exposing your child to novel foods they haven't developed a preference for yet. I often hear parents say “I have tried so many different things but he doesn’t seem to like any of them!” In order for your child to like a food, they need to be exposed to it, over, and over again. Simply attempting something new each day or week may not provide the necessary exposure that some children need to become familiar with it. Here's where meal rotation comes into play. Meal rotation involves systematically varying the meals and dishes you prepare and serve over a designated period. The primary objective of meal rotation is to foster diversity while ensuring frequent exposure and opportunities for your child to sample new foods. Increased exposure, accompanied by witnessing others happily enjoying these foods without pressure to eat them, cultivates a sense of safety, comfort, and learning for children in the realm of food exploration.…which leads us into the next point.
Cultivating a Positive Mealtime Atmosphere
Creating a positive mealtime atmosphere plays a crucial role in nurturing your child's healthy relationship with food and fostering their curiosity in food exploration. It's important to avoid applying pressure or engaging in food-related power struggles. Numerous research studies indicate that pressuring or coercing children into eating has the opposite outcome: they tend to eat less and become less willing to try unfamiliar foods. Instead, aim to cultivate an environment that encourages your child’s natural curiosity without pressure. This ties back into the first strategy: maintaining the Division of Responsibility. Remember, you provide the food and your child decides if and how much they will eat from what has been provided. Be patient and understanding if your child hesitates to try new foods at first and celebrate small steps toward food exploration. Lead by example and model healthy eating behaviors as there is no one that children look up to in the same way they look up to their parents. Your love for a variety of wholesome food can inspire your child to embrace diverse flavors. A positive mealtime environment sets the stage for a lifetime of enjoyable and varied eating experiences, where your child feels safe to explore new foods with love, patience, and consistency.
Engaging Your Child in the Kitchen
Engaging your child in the kitchen can be a rewarding and educational journey for both of you. Begin by selecting enjoyable recipes together, allowing your child to play an active role in choosing dishes they'd like to try. Resources like kid-friendly cookbooks and online platforms offer a plethora of exciting culinary adventures tailored to their interests. When your child actively participates in meal preparation—whether through whisking, pouring, cutting (with kid friendly knives under supervision), or cracking eggs—it instills a sense of responsibility and accomplishment. This involvement often leads to a greater openness to trying new foods to help maintain a diversified diet, as they feel a connection to the creation process. Beyond practical skills, this experience builds confidence, curiosity, and a lifelong appreciation for cooking while strengthening your parent-child bond.
Avoid Grazing & Set Regular Meals and Snacks
Grazing refers to the behavior where children carry some form of container with milk or juice, or seek snacks throughout the day, without a set schedule for eating. The impact of grazing varies from child to child. Some may eat too little, while others may overeat, and some may still consume regular meals and grow adequately. However, because it's challenging to predict how much your child will eat, maintaining some structure is important. Children who graze often fill up on familiar, easily-liked foods and may not develop an appetite for more diverse options at designated meals and snacks. Encouraging your child to come to meals feeling hungry but not overly famished can enhance their interest in the provided food and increase the likelihood of them trying something new, ultimately supporting a more varied diet and improved food regulation. Aim to provide set sit-down meals and snacks every 2-3 hours and allow your child to drink plenty of water in between. Don’t worry if your child doesn’t each much at one meal as they will make up for it at another meal or snack.
I hope this blog post helped you gain some understanding of what food jags are, why they occur, and how you can help support your child maintain a diverse and nutritious diet while navigating the occasional food jag.
If you have any questions you are welcome to email me at argie@stomatherapeutics.com and I would be more than happy to address them.
Happy eating!
Argie
