Resolving picky eating - my daughter freaked out over an avocado

I was chatting to a mum recently about her 5 year daughter. Although she is pretty selective, she has got into the habit of trying new fruits so is more curious about food in general.

The daughter asked whether they could explore the avocado that was sitting in the fruit bowl. This is an exciting step, when our child independently asks to look at a new food!

They both held it and then mum cut it open. Her daughter recoiled in fear and did not want to come anywhere near it. The “slimy” looking texture was a total turn-off.

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I’m sure this has happened for many parents of a fussy eater in one shape or form. Your child has seemed quite excited about something and then on closer inspection has sort of freaked out.

There are some great ways to approach this:

• Acknowledge the discomfort your child feels. For them it is very real and however illogical it may seem, their feelings are their feelings.
• Work on not endorsing their fear. If we say “yes, you’re right, avocadoes are slimy and scary” we have confirmed that they were correct to feel that way. Obviously, that is the extreme end but we can say the same thing via many of our actions/words
• Be positive, upbeat and confident. “Oh, is that different to what you were expecting?”. “I know that you’re finding it a bit challenging at the moment, but I’m sure we can get more comfortable around it”.
• Can we gently encourage our child to reengage – this may be at a considerable distance but that’s OK. For example, “I am going to put it back together like it was never opened, can you describe what it looks like now”. Leave on a positive.
• Avocadoes are now a fruit that is more of a challenge for our child, so we go back to the beginning to build that comfort level. Perhaps it’s choosing one in the supermarket for us to buy (not for them to eat). Or is it washing one, or putting in the fruit basket or pantry.
• It’s important that we don’t inadvertently magnify fears. Gently we can build comfort levels with new foods and that will lead to longer-term acceptance of many things.