Created by experts, Kids Eat in Color is the leading resource for families seeking evidence-based information and strategies on child nutrition and feeding.
Author:
Lauryn Woodruff
Coauthors:
Jennifer Anderson, MSPH, RDN
Alexandria Delozier, PHD
Johane Filemon, MS, RDN, CLT
Laura Petix, M.S. OTR/L
Erinn Jacobi, M.S. OTR/L
Stefanie Kain, B.S. M.Ed
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Reily was playing princess in her pink sparkly dress when her dad called her to help make dinner. In addition to princesses, Reily loved to help make dinner and go on treasure hunts. Reily’s dad was so thankful to have a helper in the kitchen.
Tonight’s dinner was a salad with apricots. Reily helped wash the greens and chop the ingredients, including fresh apricots. At some point, she started playing around. She even held up some of the food as if she was going to drop it to see how it bounced, but her dad scolded her.
“Reily, don’t play with the food,” he said. “Put it down!”
It was time to eat. Reily’s dad told her to take a bite of apricot.
Reily responded, “I don’t like apricots because they feel fuzzy. I want a pink cupcake!”
Reily’s dad sighed deeply. “Reily, you know you can’t eat a pink cupcake until you’ve eaten some dinner. You already played with the food earlier. Don’t get out of hand tonight!”
Reily huffed and puffed, crossed her arms, and poked her lip out. Her dad was frustrated that Reily refused another food but didn’t know what else to do.
Does this situation sound familiar? Many parents struggle feeding their picky eaters foods like apricots. We understand how hard it can be if your child is extremely selective. If you’d like to get your child to try apricots, we can help. Here’s our guide to teach kids to eat apricots. We’ll cover:
Apricots are smaller than a peach and tart like a plum. They are mostly recognized as a bright orange fruit with fuzzy skin, but there are several different varieties of apricots, so their color and texture can vary.
Are apricots healthy for kids? Apricots contain vitamin A and vitamin E, which help support eye health and vision. They also contain some vitamin C, promoting healthy skin. They are also rich in flavonoids, which support heart health.
With multiple vitamins and health benefits for kids, apricots would make a great addition to any meal or snack.
There are many ways to eat apricots and many ways to serve apricots to kids. Apricots are eaten fresh and dried. You can snack on them on their own or add them to your favorite dishes. Apricots work great in salads and in savory dishes alongside pork and lamb. Also, they can be used to make jams and preserves, or they can be used in sweet treats. Picky eaters will likely have to be served apricots in multiple ways to learn to like them.
Note: When eating fresh apricots, be aware of the pit in the middle which can be removed so younger children can still enjoy them.
Introduce apricots to kids in micro portions
When you start introducing apricots to your kid or toddler, we suggest serving a micro portion. A micro portion is a tiny, taste-sized portion the size of a pinky nail. Serving a micro portion of apricot to your little one has benefits for your child and you. They get the chance to try the apricot with less pressure because the portion size is just a taste. Normal, adult-sized portions of new foods can be very intimidating for selective eaters.
The benefit to you is that even if they decide not to try the apricot, you won’t feel like food is being wasted. If you’re concerned about food waste, read our tips for feeding your picky toddler without food waste.
Create pressure-free mealtimes for kids to try apricots
One of the keys to serving apricot, or any new foods, to kids and picky eaters is to do so without pressure. Remember Reily from the story? Her dad tried to pressure her to eat dinner so she could have the pink cupcake. While well intentioned, pressure won’t give you the results you hope for.
Removing pressure gives your child the freedom to choose whether they will try the apricot or not. This can be really scary for parents who worry their child may choose not to eat. However, you do your part by providing the meal or snack. Then, it’s up to your child to choose to eat it or not. A huge benefit of removing pressure is that this allows your child to explore new foods at their own pace.
Related: Need picky eating help? Get 11 expert tips to help picky eating.
How to Talk About Apricots to Help Your Child Try Them
Your picky eater may be nervous to try apricots because of the texture, color, or how you serve it. You may not know why apricots bother them but they will definitely let you know.
Picky eaters often use negative language when talking about the foods they are learning to like. In the story above, Reily made sure to mention that the apricots were too fuzzy for her liking. Saying a food is “gross,” or “looks funny,” is a very normal reaction for selective eaters, however it reinforces their hesitation to try new foods.
What we want to do instead is to move away from using negative language that reinforces picky eating and use more neutral words and language. You can teach your kids to use neutral, objective language when talking about new foods like apricots and eventually they will pick it up. This is called modeling. If your kids hear the way you talk about food, they will copy you.
The benefit of using neutral language is that it will teach your child to try the new foods and eventually learn to like them. Your kids won’t change their ways and be open to trying apricots right away, but this strategy is helpful in the long-term process of reversing picky eating.
Here are some words you can start using today to help teach your child to eat apricots:
Light yellow
Orange
Sweet
Tart
Soft
Fuzzy
Fruit
Small
Round
Fruity smell
Small sound
Chewy (if dried)
The next time Reily’s dad wants to serve apricots, he can talk about them in a neutral way. He could objectively describe the fruit’s characteristics, “Apricots are orange, sweet, and fuzzy.”
How to Help Your Child Understand What Apricots Do in Their Body
When we talk about apricots to our kids, what we say is really important. The way we talk about foods in general can change how they think about and understand them. There is no right or wrong way to talk about apricots. For example, saying apricots are nutritious is not wrong, it just won’t help your fussy eater actually eat the apricot. They don’t learn anything about the food.
What we can do is talk about what apricots do in the body. Messages that help your picky eater understand how a food affects them will actually help them try a new food. When picky eaters learn about new foods, they will be more curious about the food and maybe even think about trying it.
Here are some facts about apricots. Share them to help get your child to try apricots.
Age 0-3: Apricots make our eyes and our heart strong.
Age 3-5: Orange foods like apricots help us see because they have something called vitamin A!
Age 6-11: Apricots have two vitamins, A and E, which help our eyes and our hearts stay strong.
Age 12-18: Apricots have vitamins A and E, which help promote vision and overall eye health. They also have vitamin C, which helps protect our skin. They also have flavonoids, which help support heart health.
When Reily’s dad talks to her about apricots, he can tell her, “Apricots make your eyes strong so you can hunt for hidden treasure!”
Our last strategy to support picky eaters is to get kids closer to new foods through play. Food play includes looking, smelling, touching and tasting new foods. Why is food play helpful in teaching kids to eat apricots? Well, when picky kids encounter new foods, they may feel overwhelmed, and the feeling may trigger their body’s fight, flight or freeze reaction. Food play helps picky kids get more used to new foods so they are desensitized and have less fear.
In Reilly’s story, it may have been more helpful to her if her father had allowed her to taste the apricot when she was engaged in the food preparation, rather than being forced to try it at the table.
Food play activities can be simple or elaborate based on the time you have. No matter what kind of activity you choose, when your picky eater feels more comfortable around apricots, they will be more willing to try them.
Selective kids will need multiple exposures to apricot, and this fun activity can count as one. While this activity may not get your child to try or like apricot right away, it will be very helpful. Together, you and your picky eater will do Apricot and Stone Fruit Taste Test!
Apricot and Stone Fruit Rainbow
Age: 3+
Materials
1-2 apricots, washed and dried, thinly sliced
1 peach, washed and dried, thinly sliced
1 plum, washed and dried, thinly sliced
1 nectarine, washed and dried, thinly sliced
1 handful cherries, washed and dried, halved or quartered
Knife
Plate
Directions
On a plate, use the fruit slices to make a rainbow using each fruit to create a new band of the rainbow.
If your child is up for it, you can taste each fruit and compare flavors, colors, textures, shapes and sizes.
Notes
You can use any other red, purple or orange fruit that you have on hand.
Thanks for being part of our community that’s teaching kids to eat more foods!
References
Baylin, Jonathan. “Behavioral Epigenetics and Attachment: The New Science of Trust and Mistrust.” The Neuropsychotherapist 1, no. 3 (2013): 68–79. https://doi.org/10.12744/tnpt(3)068-079.
Benson, Jeryl D., Carol S. Parke, Casey Gannon, and Diane Muñoz. “A Retrospective Analysis of the Sequential Oral Sensory Feeding Approach in Children with Feeding Difficulties.” Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention 6, no. 4 (2013): 289–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/19411243.2013.860758.
Berk, Laura E. Development Through the Lifespan. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc., 2018.
Bodison, Stefanie C., and L. Diane Parham. “Specific Sensory Techniques and Sensory Environmental Modifications for Children and Youth with Sensory Integration Difficulties: A Systematic Review.” American Journal of Occupational Therapy 72, no. 1 (December 2017). https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2018.029413.
Case-Smith, Jane, and Jane Clifford O’Brien. Occupational Therapy for Children. Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby/Elsevier, 2010.
Cooke, L. “The Importance of Exposure for Healthy Eating in Childhood: A Review.” Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 20, no. 4 (2007): 294–301. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-277x.2007.00804.x.
Copple, Carol, and Sue Bredekamp. Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs: Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8. 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2008.
Hagan, Joseph F., Judith S. Shaw, and Paula M. Duncan, eds. Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents (Pocket Guide). 4th ed. Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics, 2017. https://brightfutures.aap.org/Bright%20Futures%20Documents/BF4_POCKETGUIDE.pdf.
Kramer, Paula, Jim Hinojosa, and Tsu-Hsin Howe. Frames of Reference for Pediatric Occupational Therapy. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer, 2020.
Min, Kyoung-Chul, and Yoo-Im Choi. “Review of Effectiveness Sensory Integration Therapy on Feeding and Oral Function of Children Focus on Single-Subject Research Design.” Journal of Korean Society of Occupational Therapy 29, no. 1 (2021): 101–13. https://doi.org/10.14519/kjot.2021.29.1.08.
Panche, A. N., Diwan, A. D., & Chandra, S. R. (2016). Flavonoids: an overview. Journal of nutritional science, 5, e47. https://doi.org/10.1017/jns.2016.41.
Papalia, Diane E., Ruth Duskin Feldman, and Sally Wendkos Olds. Human Development. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2009.
Parham, L. Diane, Gloria Frolek Clark, Renee Watling, and Roseann Schaaf. “Occupational Therapy Interventions for Children and Youth with Challenges in Sensory Integration and Sensory Processing: A Clinic-Based Practice Case Example.” American Journal of Occupational Therapy 73, no. 1 (January 2019). https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.731002.
Pullar, J. M., Carr, A. C., & Vissers, M. (2017). The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. Nutrients, 9(8), 866. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9080866
Rasmussen, H. M., & Johnson, E. J. (2013). Nutrients for the aging eye. Clinical interventions in aging, 8, 741–748. https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S45399.Roley, Smith Susanne, Erna I. Blanche, and Roseann C. Schaaf. Understanding the Nature of Sensory Integration with Diverse Populations. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed, 2007.
About Kids Eat in Color
Created by experts, Kids Eat in Color is the leading resource for families seeking evidence-based information and strategies on child nutrition and feeding.
Lauryn Woodruff is the Nutrition Information Specialist at Kids Eat in Color. She creates content that provides helpful nutrition information for picky eaters. Lauryn has a BS in Nutrition and Food Science and is completing her Dietetic Internship at Virginia Tech University. She enjoys cooking, trying new foods, and being outdoors!
Reily was playing princess in her pink sparkly dress when her dad called her to help make dinner. In addition to princesses, Reily loved to help make dinner and go on treasure hunts. Reily’s dad was so thankful to have a helper in the kitchen.
Tonight’s dinner was a salad with apricots. Reily helped wash the greens and chop the ingredients, including fresh apricots. At some point, she started playing around. She even held up some of the food as if she was going to drop it to see how it bounced, but her dad scolded her.
“Reily, don’t play with the food,” he said. “Put it down!”
It was time to eat. Reily’s dad told her to take a bite of apricot.
Reily responded, “I don’t like apricots because they feel fuzzy. I want a pink cupcake!”
Reily’s dad sighed deeply. “Reily, you know you can’t eat a pink cupcake until you’ve eaten some dinner. You already played with the food earlier. Don’t get out of hand tonight!”
Reily huffed and puffed, crossed her arms, and poked her lip out. Her dad was frustrated that Reily refused another food but didn’t know what else to do.
Does this situation sound familiar? Many parents struggle feeding their picky eaters foods like apricots. We understand how hard it can be if your child is extremely selective. If you’d like to get your child to try apricots, we can help. Here’s our guide to teach kids to eat apricots. We’ll cover:
The Benefits of Apricots for Kids
Apricots are smaller than a peach and tart like a plum. They are mostly recognized as a bright orange fruit with fuzzy skin, but there are several different varieties of apricots, so their color and texture can vary.
Are apricots healthy for kids? Apricots contain vitamin A and vitamin E, which help support eye health and vision. They also contain some vitamin C, promoting healthy skin. They are also rich in flavonoids, which support heart health.
With multiple vitamins and health benefits for kids, apricots would make a great addition to any meal or snack.
Related: Learn about the top iron-rich foods for babies, toddlers and kids.
How to Serve Apricots to Picky Eaters
Vary the way you serve apricots to kids
There are many ways to eat apricots and many ways to serve apricots to kids. Apricots are eaten fresh and dried. You can snack on them on their own or add them to your favorite dishes. Apricots work great in salads and in savory dishes alongside pork and lamb. Also, they can be used to make jams and preserves, or they can be used in sweet treats. Picky eaters will likely have to be served apricots in multiple ways to learn to like them.
Note: When eating fresh apricots, be aware of the pit in the middle which can be removed so younger children can still enjoy them.
Introduce apricots to kids in micro portions
When you start introducing apricots to your kid or toddler, we suggest serving a micro portion. A micro portion is a tiny, taste-sized portion the size of a pinky nail. Serving a micro portion of apricot to your little one has benefits for your child and you. They get the chance to try the apricot with less pressure because the portion size is just a taste. Normal, adult-sized portions of new foods can be very intimidating for selective eaters.
The benefit to you is that even if they decide not to try the apricot, you won’t feel like food is being wasted. If you’re concerned about food waste, read our tips for feeding your picky toddler without food waste.
Create pressure-free mealtimes for kids to try apricots
One of the keys to serving apricot, or any new foods, to kids and picky eaters is to do so without pressure. Remember Reily from the story? Her dad tried to pressure her to eat dinner so she could have the pink cupcake. While well intentioned, pressure won’t give you the results you hope for.
Removing pressure gives your child the freedom to choose whether they will try the apricot or not. This can be really scary for parents who worry their child may choose not to eat. However, you do your part by providing the meal or snack. Then, it’s up to your child to choose to eat it or not. A huge benefit of removing pressure is that this allows your child to explore new foods at their own pace.
Related: Need picky eating help? Get 11 expert tips to help picky eating.
How to Talk About Apricots to Help Your Child Try Them
Your picky eater may be nervous to try apricots because of the texture, color, or how you serve it. You may not know why apricots bother them but they will definitely let you know.
Picky eaters often use negative language when talking about the foods they are learning to like. In the story above, Reily made sure to mention that the apricots were too fuzzy for her liking. Saying a food is “gross,” or “looks funny,” is a very normal reaction for selective eaters, however it reinforces their hesitation to try new foods.
What we want to do instead is to move away from using negative language that reinforces picky eating and use more neutral words and language. You can teach your kids to use neutral, objective language when talking about new foods like apricots and eventually they will pick it up. This is called modeling. If your kids hear the way you talk about food, they will copy you.
The benefit of using neutral language is that it will teach your child to try the new foods and eventually learn to like them. Your kids won’t change their ways and be open to trying apricots right away, but this strategy is helpful in the long-term process of reversing picky eating.
Here are some words you can start using today to help teach your child to eat apricots:
The next time Reily’s dad wants to serve apricots, he can talk about them in a neutral way. He could objectively describe the fruit’s characteristics, “Apricots are orange, sweet, and fuzzy.”
Related: For more picky eating support, try BetterBites, the best-selling picky eating course for families.
How to Help Your Child Understand What Apricots Do in Their Body
When we talk about apricots to our kids, what we say is really important. The way we talk about foods in general can change how they think about and understand them. There is no right or wrong way to talk about apricots. For example, saying apricots are nutritious is not wrong, it just won’t help your fussy eater actually eat the apricot. They don’t learn anything about the food.
What we can do is talk about what apricots do in the body. Messages that help your picky eater understand how a food affects them will actually help them try a new food. When picky eaters learn about new foods, they will be more curious about the food and maybe even think about trying it.
Here are some facts about apricots. Share them to help get your child to try apricots.
Age 0-3: Apricots make our eyes and our heart strong.
Age 3-5: Orange foods like apricots help us see because they have something called vitamin A!
Age 6-11: Apricots have two vitamins, A and E, which help our eyes and our hearts stay strong.
Age 12-18: Apricots have vitamins A and E, which help promote vision and overall eye health. They also have vitamin C, which helps protect our skin. They also have flavonoids, which help support heart health.
When Reily’s dad talks to her about apricots, he can tell her, “Apricots make your eyes strong so you can hunt for hidden treasure!”
Related: Too busy to meal plan? Buy Real Easy Weekdays: The Meal Plan for Busy Families.
Apricot Food Activity
Our last strategy to support picky eaters is to get kids closer to new foods through play. Food play includes looking, smelling, touching and tasting new foods. Why is food play helpful in teaching kids to eat apricots? Well, when picky kids encounter new foods, they may feel overwhelmed, and the feeling may trigger their body’s fight, flight or freeze reaction. Food play helps picky kids get more used to new foods so they are desensitized and have less fear.
In Reilly’s story, it may have been more helpful to her if her father had allowed her to taste the apricot when she was engaged in the food preparation, rather than being forced to try it at the table.
Food play activities can be simple or elaborate based on the time you have. No matter what kind of activity you choose, when your picky eater feels more comfortable around apricots, they will be more willing to try them.
Selective kids will need multiple exposures to apricot, and this fun activity can count as one. While this activity may not get your child to try or like apricot right away, it will be very helpful. Together, you and your picky eater will do Apricot and Stone Fruit Taste Test!
Apricot and Stone Fruit Rainbow
Age: 3+
Materials
Directions
Notes
You can use any other red, purple or orange fruit that you have on hand.
Thanks for being part of our community that’s teaching kids to eat more foods!
References
Baylin, Jonathan. “Behavioral Epigenetics and Attachment: The New Science of Trust and Mistrust.” The Neuropsychotherapist 1, no. 3 (2013): 68–79. https://doi.org/10.12744/tnpt(3)068-079.
Benson, Jeryl D., Carol S. Parke, Casey Gannon, and Diane Muñoz. “A Retrospective Analysis of the Sequential Oral Sensory Feeding Approach in Children with Feeding Difficulties.” Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention 6, no. 4 (2013): 289–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/19411243.2013.860758.
Berk, Laura E. Development Through the Lifespan. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc., 2018.
Bodison, Stefanie C., and L. Diane Parham. “Specific Sensory Techniques and Sensory Environmental Modifications for Children and Youth with Sensory Integration Difficulties: A Systematic Review.” American Journal of Occupational Therapy 72, no. 1 (December 2017). https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2018.029413.
Case-Smith, Jane, and Jane Clifford O’Brien. Occupational Therapy for Children. Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby/Elsevier, 2010.
Cooke, L. “The Importance of Exposure for Healthy Eating in Childhood: A Review.” Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 20, no. 4 (2007): 294–301. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-277x.2007.00804.x.
Copple, Carol, and Sue Bredekamp. Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs: Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8. 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2008.
Hagan, Joseph F., Judith S. Shaw, and Paula M. Duncan, eds. Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents (Pocket Guide). 4th ed. Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics, 2017. https://brightfutures.aap.org/Bright%20Futures%20Documents/BF4_POCKETGUIDE.pdf.
Kramer, Paula, Jim Hinojosa, and Tsu-Hsin Howe. Frames of Reference for Pediatric Occupational Therapy. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer, 2020.
Milestone Moments: Learn the Signs, Act Early. Atlanta, GA: Department of Health & Human Services USA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/parents_pdfs/MilestoneMomentsEng508.pdf.
Min, Kyoung-Chul, and Yoo-Im Choi. “Review of Effectiveness Sensory Integration Therapy on Feeding and Oral Function of Children Focus on Single-Subject Research Design.” Journal of Korean Society of Occupational Therapy 29, no. 1 (2021): 101–13. https://doi.org/10.14519/kjot.2021.29.1.08.
Panche, A. N., Diwan, A. D., & Chandra, S. R. (2016). Flavonoids: an overview. Journal of nutritional science, 5, e47. https://doi.org/10.1017/jns.2016.41.
Papalia, Diane E., Ruth Duskin Feldman, and Sally Wendkos Olds. Human Development. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2009.
Parham, L. Diane, Gloria Frolek Clark, Renee Watling, and Roseann Schaaf. “Occupational Therapy Interventions for Children and Youth with Challenges in Sensory Integration and Sensory Processing: A Clinic-Based Practice Case Example.” American Journal of Occupational Therapy 73, no. 1 (January 2019). https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.731002.
“Preschooler Development.” MedlinePlus. U.S. National Library of Medicine, July 2, 2021. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002013.htm.
Pullar, J. M., Carr, A. C., & Vissers, M. (2017). The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. Nutrients, 9(8), 866. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9080866
Rasmussen, H. M., & Johnson, E. J. (2013). Nutrients for the aging eye. Clinical interventions in aging, 8, 741–748. https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S45399.Roley, Smith Susanne, Erna I. Blanche, and Roseann C. Schaaf. Understanding the Nature of Sensory Integration with Diverse Populations. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed, 2007.