When children do not eat enough A soup kaspar or super push button?

When children do not eat properly, parents are often helpless
"No, I'm not eating my soup!" - We all know how the story of the soup kaspar continues. But what if the boy was not stubborn, but had a special gift? Ten to 15 percent of the population perceive tastes particularly intense. They are so-called supertasters - a challenge, especially at a young age.

"For a supertaster - or too super gourmet - even a spoonful of peas can be a torment," explains graduate oecotrophologist Christoph Bier. He is the head of the networking office for day care and school catering Saarland in the Ministry of Environmental and Consumer Protection, so he is well acquainted with childish eating habits and their development. Probably the genetic phenomenon Supertaster refers to people who dispose of an above-average number of taste receptors. Accordingly, they perceive tastes more intense than others.

(Image: Anke Thomass / fotolia.com)

"In particular, bitter foods such as broccoli, brussels sprouts and the like are hard to take for a child's super-palate," explains Bier. "Although these children get used to growing up to other flavors, but especially in the toddler and kindergarten age, the steps are often small." During this time, the majority of all children, even the "normal", undergoes a phase of food production. Neophobia: You are afraid to try new foods.

Often the refusal of certain foods is misunderstood as a protest: "From our nutritional consultations, we know that parents often despair of their children's eating habits," explains Marie-Louise Conen, Health Promotion Officer at IKK Südwest.

Christoph Bier advises patience and serenity: "The eating habits must never be sanctioned or rewarded. Parents and educators should be particularly cautious in this time and offer new tastes over a long period again and again. A new taste may need to be tasted ten to fifteen times before it is accepted. "

But combined with a super-palate, the neophobia phase quickly becomes a challenge: "These children have a gift: they perceive the finest nuances, everything tastes incredibly intense, not just bitter substances, but also all other flavors. Sometimes tasting three forks of a new court is sometimes impossible for a child. If then a compulsion arises during the tasting, that can ruin a lot and permanently negatively influence the eating behavior of the child. "

Already the knowledge of the supertaster genes helps many parents and promotes the understanding of the negative behavior during eating. But how do you realize that your own child is a super push button? On the Internet you will find test strips and questionnaires. Oecotrophologist Bier appeals above all to the empathy and the observation of parents and educators and recommends to take the taste sensations of children seriously: "Preferences and aversions develop over a very long period. This starts in the womb and never really completes. It is a lifelong sociocultural learning process.

With age, the habits consolidate. The first years of life are crucial. During this time, people go through different phases, which are sometimes more, sometimes less strenuous, for everyone involved. Children - whether supertasters or not - should not be forced to consume any kind of food. Nor are they allowed to reward them for eating food. And certainly you should not reward them with certain foods. To promise dessert when the child eats the spinach is nonsensical and counterproductive.

The dessert is thereby on and the spinach devalued. On the other hand, one must constantly encourage children to include new tastes in their repertoire. This balancing act is very difficult, but is always rewarded with amazing success stories - for children and parents. And finally, the children learn the eating habits of their role models! "

Just eat better!
Nutrition seems as complicated today as ever. The oversupply of trend diets and lifestyle diets leaves many people at a loss. Until autumn 2018, the IKK Südwest will switch on the light in the pantry. The nutrition experts of the IKK want to show that healthy food is also possible without stress and want to equip the people in the region with a healthy dose of knowledge about nutrition. The message: Eat better! On the dedicated website www.iss-einfach-besser.de, interested parties will find a buffet full of information on the health and social importance of nutrition, favorite recipes of employees and insured persons of the IKK Südwest, competitions and information on the nutritional questions that the IKK offers at various branches and offers by phone.

Tastes. easy. Well.
A healthy diet in childhood and adolescence lays the foundation for a conscious handling of food. This is exactly what the cooperation project between the adiposity network Saar, the networking center for day care and school catering and the IKK Südwest is all about. The project is based on the eponymous cookbook "tastes.easy.good.". The aim is to introduce students to fresh and healthy cooking during several lessons, and to gradually dispense with finished products.

The name says it all: "Tastes.easy.good." Contains many delicious recipes, which are suitable for cooking professionals as well as for beginners thanks to the modular structure of the book. This concept is to lure the Saarland students to the cooking pots. Trained instructors use the cookbook in the participating schools to show how they can consciously prepare healthy meals with little effort. (Sb, pm)