humans literally evolved to have a heightened sense of taste in childhood because smaller bodies are more sensitive to poison and adults are just like “nah kids are Picky Eaters™ specifically to annoy me”
Also certain neurodivergencies can cause kids to be sensitive to certain foods and tastes and textures. That also isn’t just to annoy their parents. We literally can’t help it. If your kid freaks out at certain food, don’t force them to stay at the table until they finish it every night. Just give them different foods. Kids are not bad. They deserve to eat food they like that doesn’t make them sick. Be kind.
Telling kids their taste buds will change as they grow is a game changer. I’ve known many kids who were yelled at so much for being a picky eater that they dug in their heels, refused to eat certain foods, and never retried them even when they were adults. But explaining how child taste buds are different in an “isn’t that interesting!” way will get the kids into it
Explain the science of taste buds to children, tell them it’s okay they don’t like certain tastes because it means their body is trying to keep them safe, and tell them they might want to retry foods throughout their life because they’ll taste different as they age. Every single time I’ve done this the child has been excited to retry foods as they grow
All kids are scientists. If you tell them it’s okay to experiment with food they’ll be eager to do it
Some foods will also just scare them off because they’re different every time you try them so it’s like a Russian roulette but for your taste buds, and I feel like a lot of parents seem to forget that.
Also undiagnosed allergies and especially intolerances are a thing.
I almost never ate fruit as a kid. Turns out I can’t digest most local fruits unless I take antihistamines first, but I only discovered that as an adult, so I was called picky as a kid because I preferred sugary snacks that don’t make me nauseous over healthy fruits that do.
