 Development of Food Acceptance Patterns in Early Childhood . . . page 1 H. A. Guthrie PhD, Rd Professor Emerita, Nutrition The Pennsylvania State University During the first year of life infants make a transition from the diet of the newborn in which milk is the sole source of nutrients to that of an omnivore characterized by a wide variety of plant and animal foods. This change is the result of a small genetic component and a large amount of learning influenced by the availability of food and the environment in which it is offered. In the first half of this century our recommendations for the feeding of infants and children came from the work of two investigators. Clara Davis(1) demonstrated that children presented with a variety of nutritious foods were able to select a diet that met their nutritional needs. In the late 1940’s Miriam Lowenberg(2), jointly with Dr. Spock, made recommendations to mothers based on her systematic observations of the effect of texture and flavor characteristics of foods, serving sizes and the eating environment on food acceptance by children in day-care centers at the Kaiser Shipyards during World War II. More recently, Ellen Slater(3) has provided mothers with effective, common-sense advice on feeding practices for infants and children. Children learn intuitively, and through imitation, about food likes and dislikes, when it is appropriate to eat and how much, and what is culturally and socially acceptable. This learning can be modified by the caregiver through provision of an environment that is believed to foster healthful practices. This article will be devoted to a growing body of research data provided primarily by sensory scientists focusing on the role of flavor in the development of food preferences and social scientists interested in the developmental processes, environmental factors and associative learning that affect food acceptance patterns in young children. Their findings provide a theoretical basis to guide parents in promoting eating behaviors in infancy and early childhood that support moderation and adequacy of the total nutrient intake. This is particularly important since survey data tell us that there are major discrepancies between the reported food intake patterns of infants and children and national recommendations. Current recommendations for maximizing success and minimizing pitfalls in the early feeding experience are based on findings that food acceptance patterns are unique to each child and are the product of the interaction of three major components:
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