«People who are forced to eat no longer trust their body signals»

Mrs Botta, one nutritional trend follows the next. What is all the rage today is considered outdated and unhealthy tomorrow. How are parents supposed to find their way through this jungle of tips and advice?

The best thing to do with a food is to think about whether your great-grandmother would have eaten it. True to the motto: Back to the roots. You should pay attention to your own body signals: How does it taste? Does it feel good? How do I feel after eating? Am I full?

Many young people no longer know what cauliflower is or how to squeeze a lemon.

Many young people today lack the basis to consciously deal with their diet. I experience this as a teacher in home economics lessons. Pupils no longer know what cauliflower is or how to squeeze a lemon.

How can we counteract this?

By cooking and eating as variedly as possible and involving the children as early as possible. Children try much more if they are allowed to help with the shopping and cooking.

What can parents use as a guide?

What always applies is: seasonal, regional, species-appropriate animal husbandry and the shortest possible route from the field to the plate. The more processed something is, the unhealthier it is. The longer the list of ingredients in a product, the worse. The menu should also be as varied and colourful as possible.

Children and adolescents go through different phases that come and go. How strongly should parents react when a child has a new eating habit?

This depends very much on age. With small children, you can always «deselect» a few foods, but they should try everything. With teenagers, you have to find out what the child wants to achieve.

Parents of teenagers should keep their eyes open for possible eating disorders.

Does it just want to annoy its parents? Does it not feel comfortable in its body? Do they have acne? Here it is important to take the young person seriously and ask why. And that you look for solutions together.

My son decided to go vegan three years ago. So I said: we can do that, but how do we do it? When do you cook? When do I cook? Where do we get the recipes from? What are you prepared to contribute? It's not just up to us, we're not a hotel.

Another article on vegan nutrition for young people:

At this age, it is simply important to keep your eyes open for any eating disorders. Because the earlier you diagnose something, the earlier you can treat it. Another option is to tell the child: "We'll try it for three weeks and then we'll see. Then you often realise how serious the child is and whether it's just a phase.

Parents are often unsettled when their child suddenly doesn't want to eat something at all or only wants to eat a certain food. Rightly so?

Here, too, it depends on age. Young children under the age of six suffer from neophobia: they are suspicious of new foods and if they eat something every day, at some point they no longer want it at all. If you provide a varied diet, this is less likely to happen. Children have to try a new food 15 times before they like it. In the first ten to twelve years of life, they should therefore try as much of everything as possible.

If children always eat the same thing, they will eventually get sick of it.

Of course, you can decide together on a few foods that your child doesn't want to eat and doesn't have to try. With three to five things that you don't eat, you can get through life without any problems. One of my sons doesn't like bananas and mayonnaise, for example, and that's fine. If someone doesn't eat fennel and broccoli, but otherwise likes vegetables, that's no problem either.

How bad is it when children only eat spaghetti with tomato sauce?

These are phases. If children always eat the same thing, they get sick of it at some point. Let them do it, they can't do it for three weeks - no child can keep it up for long. The important thing is that the parents also cook other delicious and healthy things.

At some point you have eaten too much of something, our genes are pretty clever in this respect. Especially when it comes to chocolate, for example, it's better to eat so much that you get sick of it. You can have a candy Olympics or eat the whole chocolate bunny in one go.

How can you make a new meal appealing to children?

You should encourage them to try things out in a playful way. It's very important that it's playful and not forced. When my children were young, I always liked to play the lick-spit-swallow game with them: As a first step, the child only licks a food, they don't have to eat it. They are praised for this and the licked food can be put away again. If this goes well, the next step is for the child to bite on the food, but they don't have to swallow it. And only when that goes well does it start to swallow a small piece.

Parents should not engage in power struggles with their children at any age.

It is also a good idea to build bridges. For example, if you want your child to try a new vegetable, you can add it to their favourite pizza. It is important that parents set a good example. They should try everything themselves and eat a varied diet.

What is the most common mistake parents make when it comes to nutrition?

They get involved in power struggles. They force things and exert pressure. But that doesn't work with food. When children are forced to eat, they no longer trust their own body signals.

Many parents give up far too quickly.

What's more, if a child behaves really badly at the dinner table, it has the parents' undivided attention. So why should they stop? Parents should not engage in power struggles with their children at any age. That doesn't help. You should just be a bit more relaxed. That doesn't mean that you don't have rules or that you don't have to be a good role model.

Many parents are dismayed when their child, who has eaten broccoli for years, suddenly dislikes it. How does a child's sense of taste change?

The sense of taste is already formed during pregnancy. This is why a mother should eat as varied a diet as possible so that the child gets used to these flavours. If you eat garlic during pregnancy and tolerate it well, the child will also tolerate it well during breastfeeding. If you are breastfeeding, you should therefore eat as varied a diet as possible.

Eating together at the family table can help prevent addiction.

Many parents also give up far too quickly, after two or three attempts they say: My child won't eat this or that. Fifteen times is a lot. You have to keep at it.

How do you create a relaxed atmosphere at the family table?

By thinking about what you want to achieve at the dinner table. What rules apply to the adults? Which ones for the children? Starting the meal with a ritual can have a very positive effect. Or if you tell the child early on that there will soon be food and then they should stop playing.

It is best to simply set an example of the desired behaviour. Parents should convey the attitude: That's fine, we're looking forward to eating.

Why is eating together so important for a family?

Studies have shown that eating together at the family table can even help prevent addiction. Our eating culture is a social component and an important exchange. We talk about the day, share experiences and adventures. This is where the family meets. It's not the time to discuss bad grades.