Children's taste buds can be quite varied and go through developmental stages that become more complex over time.

Have you ever heard the expression “childish palate”? It refers to the occasion when an adult rejects a type of food and, instead, chooses others that are not rich in nutrients.

Although this expression associates children with a less diverse palate, the process of developing children's palates is complex and very interesting.

So if you live with children who are always looking for fried foods, sweets and cookies like naughty, find out how this development occurs and learn how to help them diversify their diet and try a wider variety of foods.

Intrauterine life

When the fetus is still in the womb, taste buds form, which are small protrusions on the tongue, containing taste buds and responsible for helping each person to taste food and avoid poisoning.

These papillae begin to form during the fetus' intrauterine life around the seventh or eighth week of gestation. Thus, it is possible to say that fetuses can recognize flavors when they are in the amniotic fluid.

First months of life

After birth, breast milk becomes the food that is most exposed to the newborn's palate. It is the experience with this milk that shapes the baby's preferences for sweet, bitter and salty flavors.

The mother's diet during breastfeeding, especially in the first year of the child's life, also provides the baby with the taste experience of different flavors.

It is most common for babies to prefer sweet flavors (like breast milk) in the first few months. Around four months, they start to like salty foods and only later do they start to taste bitter flavors.

First years

As time goes by, children begin to show preferences for some foods and rejection of others. To help them discover and be curious about new foods, it is essential to expose them to them. As a rule, it is necessary to introduce the new food up to 15 times until the child accepts and enjoys it.

The best thing to do is to gradually introduce your child to their taste buds and introduce new flavors gradually. If you notice that they reject a certain food every time you introduce it, it's a good idea to give them a break and respect their choice, and look for other options that offer similar nutrients while also providing them with beneficial (and non-traumatic) experiences.

Taste develops throughout life, including adulthood, and changes over time. While children often like sour flavors and are more sensitive to bitter flavors, the opposite is true for adults. In other words, preferences for certain flavors can change significantly over the course of a person's life.

Therefore, stimulate your child's palate by exposing him/her to different foods and gradually introduce new flavors. Remember that sometimes you will need to introduce a new food 10 or 15 times for your child to accept and enjoy it. It is worth talking to your child and introducing new ways for him/her to consume a food (such as cooking rice with the same water that was used to cook beets or carrots, for example, which also makes it colorful and fun).

Tips for attracting children

Taste is a complex sense that is influenced by several factors, such as the smell, appearance and texture of food. Therefore, take care with the food you offer to children, offer colorful dishes and play at drawing with some ingredients.

This helps make mealtimes more fun and makes the experience more inviting for the child to try new flavors and get into the habit of eating fruits and vegetables regularly.