If you’re a picky eater, you probably go through the five stages of grief at least once a week at the dinner table. You start in denial (today is totally the day they get over their fear of ricotta cheese and eat ravioli) and inevitably end in acceptance (an untouched plate of cold ravioli and an eager bowl of cereal). It was tiring, to say the least.
While researchers haven’t found the answer to parents’ feeding woes yet, they do have a reason. As it turns out, it’s probably not your fault but your genes.
In this new study, published in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatryresearchers investigated the reasons why children are food picky. They ultimately found that up to 86% of the variation in children’s picky behavior was explained by genetics.
So, it’s still your fault…but not consciously!
The researchers focused on twins from more than 2,400 families who chose to take part in a scheme called Gemini, run by the Office for National Statistics. They collected data on participants over a decade, from 16 months to 13 years old.
Studies have shown that identical twins are more similar in pickiness than fraternal twins because identical twins are 100% genetically identical, suggesting that genetics is a key factor.
While nature does bear most of the responsibility, nurture still has some say in the matter. Once children enter early childhood, environmental factors (such as whether families sit down to eat dinner or what family members eat) explain 15 to 26 percent of the variance in picky eating, with this effect continuing from age 5 onwards.
This environmental factor is important because it means being picky about food isn’t as hopeless as it seems.
Research shows that environmental effects are long-lasting and increase steadily over time, leaving room for intervention in early childhood and throughout adolescence. Changes in environmental patterns may help your child expand their palette.
Experts recommend a variety of ways to help children overcome food pickiness, including avoiding serving your children alternative meals and getting them more involved in the food by taking them grocery shopping or letting them help you cook.
So really, we have the best of both worlds. You can blame your child’s picky eating on their genetic makeup, but it’s not entirely hopeless to imagine that one day, with hard work and dedication, you can convince them to eat their vegetables.
