I'll admit I was a picky eater as a child, and can recall several instances where I refused to even try something that was offered to me. For several years I basically lived off of pasta and milk, but in the long run I guess I turned out ok! Looking back I do find it silly because without even tasting something I would have my mind already made up that I didn't like it.
In order to try and prevent our kids from developing similar habits, my husband and I started telling our kids right off the bat that they need to taste everything on their plate. They are allowed to not like something or not want to eat something served, but they have to at least try it first. Our oldest will sometimes say "but I tried it when I was little and I didn't like it". To which we explain that our tastes change everyday so what you didn't like before you might like now. Often times she will taste something (such as mushrooms) and say she still doesn't like it, but every once in awhile she will surprise even herself and say she does it like now. Recently this happened with scallops...she loved scallops as a toddler but then randomly stopped eating them for about 2 years. She kept trying them and would always say she still doesn't like them. However, the last time we made them she suddenly announced "I like them" and proceeded to eat most of my scallops. Left me without much dinner, but I was happy to see her enjoying them again.
Also, we have found that when giving our kids new food we try to not bias their tastes ahead of time. This means that even if we're eating something we're fairly certain they won't like, we won't tell them "you won't like this" if they ask to try our food. Not putting preconceived notions about what they will and will not like, has been particularly important for our second child as she is quick to believe whatever she is told. She loves to eat off mommy and daddy's plate so we let her try whatever she wants from our plates and then will ask her if she liked it. I always laugh because she will eat some of the strangest foods for a 3 year old from our plates and proudly declare "I like it!" Eating off our plates she has discovered a love for feta, mushrooms, smoked salmon, and pickles just to name a few. Most of her favorite foods are things I would have never guessed she'd love, so I'm really happy we didn't make her mind up for her.
Going along the lines of trying to make sure we don't give our kids preconceived notions, my husband and I try very hard to not use the phrase "I don't eat ... or I don't like ..." Little kids are very quick to mimic behaviors they see or hear at home so we try to make sure they see us eating a healthy, wide variety of foods in hopes that they will in turn do the same thing. Along those same lines we taught our kids to not say "yuck!" or "that's gross!"if they try something that they don't like. We always explain to them that just because they may not like a particular food item, doesn't mean that it's gross and that someone else may like it so saying it's gross might hurt the other person's feelings.
I don't know what role these behaviors have had in shaping our kids eating habits, but I'd like to think that they've helped our kids to develop well rounded tastes. Knock on wood, so far we've avoided having a picky eater like I was, which makes family dinners fun because we can explore new foods and recipes together.
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