Why One Bite Isn’t Enough: Helping Kids Learn to Like New Foods

We all dream of that moment when a child FINALLY takes a bite of a new food. And when they do, it’s so tempting to ask:

“Do you like it?”

But here’s the problem… that question traps kids into a fixed mindset.

If a child says no, they might decide the story ends there—“I tried it once. I didn’t like it. Now I never have to eat it again.”

But is that really how it works?

Why One Bite Isn’t Enough

The truth is, most kids need to try a food multiple times to start liking it.

The first bite? That’s about getting past fear.

The second, third, and fourth? That’s lowering the alarm bells and getting used to the experience.

And somewhere around the eighth or ninth try—when their body is relaxed, the food is no longer foreign, their brain feels safe, and their taste buds aren’t on high alert:

That’s when they start actually learning to like the food. 💡

Free Strategies for Picky Eating and Autism

What the Research Says

Decades of research tell us that trying something once is rarely enough.

Birch & Marlin (1982) showed that toddlers who tasted new cheeses and fruits 2, 5, 10, 15, or 20 times were more likely to choose the ones they’d tried most often. The more they tasted, the more they preferred.

Sullivan & Birch (1990) found that preschoolers who tasted just one version of tofu (plain, salty, or sweetened) 8–15 times developed a strong preference for that version—highlighting how consistent, repeated exposure to a specific flavor matters.

Wardle et al. (2003) worked with school-aged kids and found that simply offering repeated tastings of sweet red pepper significantly increased both how much the children liked it—and how much they ate—compared to children who didn’t get to try it at all (i.e., the control group).

Lakkakula et al. (2010) ran a large cafeteria-based study where 4th and 5th graders were invited to taste vegetables weekly for 10 weeks. Even kids who started out disliking the veggies showed significantly higher ratings of them by the 8th or 9th try.

(Tan et al., 2025, preprint) extended this idea to adults. In just 10 days, adults, some of whom self-identified as picky eaters, grew to like—and eat more of—green pepper after being repeatedly exposed to it. No changes were seen in the control group, who were eating crackers instead.

Together, these studies span

- Toddlers

- Preschoolers

- School-aged children

- —and even adults

And across all these ages and settings, the story is the same: trying once isn’t enough.

What we’ve learned through all of these decades of research is:

We build food preferences through repeated tastes.

So How Do We Teach That?

We have to shift kids' expectations.

Instead of saying, “Just try it” (and letting them think it’s a one-and-done thing), we need to help them understand that liking new foods is a skill—and that skills take practice.

Instead of using a “no thank you bite” as a polite exit ramp, we need to show kids that trying a food isn’t just something you do to be done with it—it’s something your body gets smarter from. Each taste gives your brain and taste buds new information. Your body is literally learning!

Instead of confirming a child’s belief that “I’ll never like broccoli,” we get to teach them something powerful:

“Your body is amazing. It changes. It grows. And with repeated tries, it can learn to love foods that help you run faster, think clearer, and feel stronger.”

This isn’t about white-knuckling through bites—it’s about giving kids the tools, confidence, and science-backed curiosity to keep going.

That’s exactly what my social story, Learn to Like New Foods, is designed to do.

It helps kids understand—on their level, with simple language—that liking something new isn’t instant. It’s a process. A journey. One where their brain and body learn with every bite.

A Story That Teaches Adventurous Eating

I wrote this story for one of my real-life feeding clients—a bright, curious child with autism who hadn’t tried a new food in over a year. His family was nervous about pushing it, and understandably so. Every attempt led to gagging, refusal, and tears.

I didn’t want to create more stress around mealtimes—I wanted him to feel empowered.

So I wrote him a story that gently explained what it means to learn to like something new.

And it worked.

We read it together, and he agreed to start trying new foods again. In just six months, he went from zero new foods to 38.*

Learn to Like New Foods is:

🧠 Based on real therapy tools
📚 Easy to read with kids at home, in clinic, or at school
💬 Includes tips for adults on how to introduce and use the story
✨ Ready for immediate download
💡 Just $9

It’s a printable, evidence-informed story designed especially for kids with autism or ARFID who feel nervous about tasting new foods.

👉 Click here to get the story and empower a child’s journey toward bravery

**The social story I use to support my clients**

***Learn to Like New Foods*** **is a fun, evidence-based story I wrote that shows kids how trying something again (and again!) teaches their taste buds to like new foods—with simple, grown-up-supported steps to keep going.**
🧠 Based on real therapy tools
📚 Easy to read with simple language
✨ Ready for immediate download
💡 Just $9

Learn more about the story

References

Birch, L. L., & Marlin, D. W. (1982). I don’t like it; I never tried it: Effects of exposure on two-year-old children’s food preferences. Appetite, 3(4), 353–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0195-6663(82)80053-6

Lakkakula, A., Geaghan, J., Zanovec, M., Pierce, S., & Tuuri, G. (2010). Repeated taste exposure increases liking for vegetables by low-income elementary school children. Appetite, 55(2), 226–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2010.06.003

Sullivan, S. A., & Birch, L. L. (1990). Pass the sugar, pass the salt: Experience dictates preference. Developmental Psychology, 26(4), 546–551. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.26.4.546

Tan, C. C., Sherrard, A., & Lauten, F. (2025). The Role of Repeated Exposure in Modifying Food Acceptance Among Young Adults with Picky Eating Tendencies. Preprint at SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5237182

Wardle, J., Herrera, M-L., Cooke, L., & Gibson, E. L. (2003). Modifying children’s food preferences: the effects of exposure and reward on acceptance of an unfamiliar vegetable. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 57(2), 341–348. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601541

*This social story was one component of a comprehensive intervention plan I delivered as a behavior analyst. The child’s progress reflected the combined effects of individualized behavioral strategies, caregiver collaboration, and ongoing clinical support. The story served as a helpful tool within that broader therapeutic context.