As many parents know, kids can be picky eaters. In this episode of The Lab, offer a few tips on how to introduce healthy foods to babies. Parenting expert Carrie Contey also weighs in with suggestions on how to get children to try new food. She also reveals the impact moms and dads can have on a child's healthy eating habits. Do you have cooking or nutrition ideas on how to deal with a picky eater? Share them with us at DadLabs.com. DadLabs Ep. 790 is brought to you by Beaba.

Daddy Clay: There's almost nothing in parenting that will make a dad see purple spots faster than cooking up a delicious, healthy, nutritious meal, serving it to the children, and have them go "Eh".
Daddy Brad: Today in The Lab, picky eaters and how to deal with them.
Daddy Clay: Yuck. Today's episode of The Lab is brought to you by Beaba. These Beaba feeding products make it a snap to serve up fresh, whole, organic and delicious foods to your baby. Beaba.
Daddy Brad: I know from close observation what picky eating looks like. Kids having a preference for a few foods and a reluctance to try anything new. Drives me nuts. But what can parents do about picky eaters?
Daddy Clay: One thing you can do, start early. introduce a wide variety of healthy foods as soon as your doctor says its advisable. Remember, repeated exposure builds taste preferences. Now, babies are gonna present a bit of an uphill battle because they prefer sweet and salty tastes. If your baby tends to reject new flavors, try placing the food in the center of the tongue where the baby has fewer taste buds. This will diminish the intensity of the experience. But hey, why wait till the baby's born? I actually read one study that claims that babies can smell what mom is eating in the amniotic fluid. It suggested that by eating a wide variety of foods, mom may influence the baby to be more accepting of new flavors. But you might want to avoid asparagus, cause that would make for some really smelly amniotic fluid.
Daddy Brad: And hope you don't have a super taster. You know, 25% of the population has double the normal amount of taste buds. This sensitivity can lead to picky eating. Go to Google and Google super taster to find out methods to test for. But what happens when you have a child that's eating a nice variety of foods and then one day just stops. What do you do then?
Carrie Contey: It can become a very easy source of a power struggle for children where they know, Ooh when I don't eat those foods or when I resist dinner or this or that, I get mom or dad's full attention. And that's really satisfying especially after a long day when I'm tired. So if more of the attention's coming from Hey I missed you. It's so good to be with you. Wow, you're just doing such great growing. And look at all these things you're trying. That's gonna foster that emotional, that's gonna fill up the emotional belly so that the physical nutrition will just take it. it'll come. But if all the attention's on You're not eating. You're not eating. You're not eating, then yeah, there's a lot of incentive to not eat. If parents are making really healthy choices and they're sitting down with their children, and they're eating vegetables and they're eating a balanced diet. And they're modeling that. That if they're 2 or 4 or even 10 year old is only eating tortillas and maybe some beans and cheese, I'm pretty confident that at some point they're gonna start eating more of the foods that the family just eats. But you're not gonna get them to eat that way if you're just saying You need to eat better. You need to eat vegetables. You need to eat vegetables. You can coach them and say Hey let's have the little plate that I'm always gonna put in front of you. That's your little trying pieces. Because I'd love for you to try new things and there might be things you really will find that you love. But I also get that maybe that's not what you want. So always there's gonna be a little salad and if you eat it great. And if you don't, no big deal.
Daddy Brad: Now that makes me feel a little better. I like her laid back approach.
Daddy Clay: I do too. I mean, after all, it's hard to unring the nugget bell, so to speak. But I do think it's important to try to emphasize real food and avoid so-called kids foods as a way to not have a picky eater. After all, studies have shown that already by the age of 3, the average kid can articulate that they have a preference for fatty foods, sweet foods, and salty foods, and can identify the fast foods that will deliver those flavors to them. And that's something you want to avoid.
Daddy Brad: Studies have also shown that you've made me feel like crap once again.
Daddy Clay: You know what, we want to hear from you. Go to DadLabs.com and tell us your stories of how you overcame, avoided or dealt with picky eating.
Daddy Brad: We'd like to thank our sponsor Beaba. The Beaba Babycook is a wonderful tool in fighting picky eating. Thanks to Beaba. Well, that's all for us here at The Lab. We'll see you next time.