The field of pediatric nutrition is so exciting for us to work in! It is a constantly evolving discipline, with new information coming from cutting-edge research at a fast pace. We didn’t even think about the difference between tasting and eating until a few years ago…splitting hairs, right? Wrong! New neuroscience research has given us amazing insights into the learning windows of the developing brain, and how early tasting shapes babies’ food preferences from a very young age as well as their progress with learning to eat when they are developmentally ready. 

First, let’s define clearly what we are talking about. TASTING is simply the perception of flavor on the tongue. No glob to move around in your mouth and swallow and get calories and nutrients from. Simply flavor. Touch a strawberry then lick your finger. That’s tasting. EATING involves a measurable amount of food or liquid that your tongue tastes, indeed, but also moves around your mouth to a place where you can safely swallow. EATING implies the absorption of calories and nutrients. Babies definitely need to be developmentally ready to eat; they have to have the ability to move their tongue in ways other than what is meant for sucking, and voluntarily be able to swallow. Read our post on when and how to start solids for more details.

Now for the fascinating part. Babies start tasting in utero, by about the 9th week of gestation. Studies have shown that what the mother eats during her pregnancy and while breastfeeding (because the smells and flavors of her diet make their way into amniotic fluid and breastmilk) help familiarize their baby to a wide variety of flavors. Review this NIH article discussing how mothers’ eating habits during pregnancy shape their children’s’ food preferences decades later. Crazy!! Remember hearing that you can learn to like a food if you just keep tasting it? How about the expression “it’s an acquired taste?” True! Think about how babies in Asia gobble up slimy seafood and babies in South America chow down on spicy enchiladas. It’s because that’s what they’ve learned to like to eat! Humans can learn to like any flavor (despite being born with a preference for sweet). It comes down to having repeated exposure to lots of different flavors from an early age.

So go ahead, expose your baby to all kinds of tastes and flavors. It doesn’t matter how young your baby is; remember they were already tasting flavors in utero. Rub your finger on a banana, a strawberry, or a steak. Dip your finger in any kind of sauce or soup you happen to be eating, and lightly touch your finger to your baby’s lips or tongue, or just allow them to smell it. Get your camera ready for the priceless expressions your baby will make as they learn about the wide world of flavors. You’re giving them a BIG helping hand to teach them to learn to like a wide variety of flavors and grow into healthy eaters for life.

DISCLAIMER: We know when you surf the web for information, you can get conflicting results, and it’s not easy to know whether you are finding evidence-based, high quality recommendations. That’s part of our job here at Kodiak KINDNESS; we are here to support your informed decisions about infant feeding through your baby’s first year. We’ve done some background work, and to the best of our knowledge, this post reflects current best practices. However, the information contained in this post and any links contained herein is for your informational use only; it is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Furthermore, Kodiak KINDNESS is not responsible for the accuracy of any information contained in this post or links contained herein; it is for you to review at your own risk and discuss, as needed, with your health care professional in order to make a plan that suits your individual circumstances.