Like many mothers, Karen Le Billon worried about her children’s picky eating habits. All of that changed, when she and her family moved to her husband’s hometown in Northern France for a year – where they discovered that French kids eat everything happily.
Determined to find out how French parents did it, Karen discovered the strategies, routines and rules to teach their kids to eat well.
For example, French scientists have shown that kids need to taste a new food on average 7 times before they actually accept to eat it. This rule helped her kids to eat vegetables and try new foods.
The french approach helped her to develop healthy habits about how, when and why they eat.
On their move back to North America, she adapted the rules. She was so inspired that she wrote the book French Kids Eat Everything (And Yours Can, Too).
Karen’s book is relevant at a time where healthy eating can seem like a battle against fast options, cheap choices and artificial flavours. Last week, I included a post about healthy eating habits potentially starting in the womb (read more here). And this week, on the potential of longer lives for babies born this year (read more here). These issues highlight the absolute importance of encouraging open minds and good attitudes towards different foods and healthier choices. This book touches on a problem that many parents have – and that many soon to be parents fear – dealing with picky eaters. She brings a fresh perspective to the issue and offers some interesting insight on her experience, that she says, is working pretty well so far.