Have you ever wondered why your little one repeatedly wants to eat the same food daily and then suddenly refuses the same food they once loved, you’re not alone! This is incredibly common in toddlers and young children. One day, they’re happily munching on their favourite pasta, and the next, they won’t touch it. Food jags often don’t make sense and you can feel very STUCK as a parent!
This blog will explain the reasons for food jags, why it is important to address it early on and strategies you can put in place to help you all get unstuck.
Additionally, it’s important to know that this is a normal part of development, and there are ways to navigate it without mealtime battles.
What is a food jag?
When a child wants to eat the same food repeatedly, prepared the same way, either every day or at every meal, this is known as a food jag. It’s often linked to their growing independence and changing taste preferences.
The problem comes when they eat it so frequently that they get bored or burn out of the food and suddenly refuse it. This can happen to all children but those with feeding difficulties and some neurodiverse children, they need the right approach to ensure these foods are not lost out of their diet for good.
Why do children food jag?
All children can food jag for a number of reasons. This could be reasons such as:
- Developmental Changes – As children grow, their taste buds and food preferences evolve.
- Comfort – it is comforting to have a preferred food that they know they like and want to eat it frequently. They also know what to expect when seeing it on the plate.
- Control – Can often occur at toddler age when they want to exert some control over what they want to eat.
- Routine – Having the same food every day in the same way can become a routine. Some children love the routine and predictability of knowing they are having a particular food.
- Taste preference – We all have preferences for certain types of foods, typically sweet and salty rather than bitter. This can make it harder to eat more of a variety of different foods.
Why it’s important to address
Nutritional gaps – Repetitive eating (eating of the same foods at every meal or most meals) can lead to gaps in nutrition. So if they are not getting enough variety in their diets then they are likely to be missing out on some important nutrition. Particularly if they are missing one or more food groups.
Burnout – Food jags can risk ‘burnout’ on a specific food or meal and not regaining interest in that food again into their diets. This is more likely with children who have feeding difficulties or who are resistant eaters.
Stuck in a cycle – Long term habits around food can be influenced at this stage, especially if they are eating the same foods and not getting much variety. It can therefore be harder to get them out of this cycle as they get older.
5 Strategies to manage food jagging
1. Stay calm and consistent
Staying calm and not making a big deal of the food refusal or the “accepted foods” is the best approach. Avoid using pressure to encourage eating such as bribing, coaxing or rewarding as this can make it into more of a battle.
Even asking your child to take a bite may be seen as gentle pressure by some children. When you use pressure tactics this can increase stress at the table, which rather than supporting your child’s feeding, actually reduces their appetite and willingness to eat.
The mealtime language you use is really important. So instead of asking them to take a bite or rewarding them with something else, it’s ideal if you can let them know they can leave it and they don’t have to eat it. This blog gives some more examples of how to use food language when food refusal strikes.
Maintaining regular mealtimes and routines is important for building up consistency with mealtimes and helps with appetite regulation.
2. Keep offering a variety
It can help to include the preferred food alongside new or previously accepted foods so they are getting exposed to a variety.
Use rotation by serving the preferred food every few days, not daily and focusing on other accepted foods on the other days. This way they are not getting the same food every day and it helps to prevent them burning out of the food.
If they don’t have many foods in their diet and it is not possible to rotate food every other day, then it is important to think about making some changes with presentation so it is not served the same way. There are some examples below of how to do this.
3. Make small changes with the presentation
You only need to make ONE small change each day, so this could be ONE property of the food such as colour, shape, taste or texture.
For example, if the food is a round cracker – consider changing the shape to a square one. This may help to re-engage interest and be seen as a different. They may still be resistant to the change but keep offering this way for a week.
4. Involve your child in food preparation
If your child is resistant to trying new foods and expanding their diet then letting them be involved in food preparation will help them to explore food with no pressure.
If that is tricky then there are other ways to involve your child with food such as food shopping, picking out a new vegetable, playing games with foods.
5. Model and offer variety
Eating together as a family whenever possible and showing enjoyment in a variety of foods, helps your child to feel safe around new foods and possibly learn to try them.
Use role modeling with family members or siblings to help model eating, particularly new foods in fun ways.
When to seek help
With patience and the above strategies, most children move through food jags. The earlier you intervene the more likely you are to keep those foods in their diet.
If your child is showing signs of extreme food restriction, weight loss, anxiety around food etc then it is worth speaking to your GP who can refer you to a specialist. Check out my blog on When it’s more than fussy eating for some tips on when you might need more support and also check out my blog series on feeding your neurodiverse child for more advice.