Picky eaters may have good reasons for their behaviour. No matter why your child has become picky, how you handle the situation can affect his or her future. Therefore, you should know the following reasons for picky children first of all.  _ is common in children; it often happens at the dinner table. Some children just refuse to try new food because they don't know what it will taste like, while others dislike new food before even smelling it. Some children take it to the extreme  and will only eat a few foods that they like. Psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Capaldi says that, by the time children reach the age of two, they have formed their own eating habits that they don't want to be disturbed by new offerings at the table. A newly published study led by Dr. Lucy Cooke of University College London showed that picky eating in children results from genetic  and environmental causes. The research, which followed the eating habits of 5,390 pairs of twins between the ages of 8 and 11, found that about 75% of the neophobia in the children was from their parents, while 25% was due to the influence of environment. Children grow at a high speed during their first year, but that fast-paced growth tends to slow down by their second year. When children are not experiencing one of those fast growth periods, their body needs less energy; and that results in a smaller appetite . When children are not hungry, they tend to enjoy only food they like. They refuse new food and food that is not their favourite. Some children will limit the amount of food to only one kind, like hamburgers or pancakes, leaving all the other foods untouched. In some cases, many real reasons why a child behaves as a picky eater exist. About 5% of children who are 10 years of age or younger have some type of neurological dysfunction  that influences their eating habits. These children may be easily hurt by some special smells, or their brain may not be able to process such sensory information properly. What can we learn about the study led by Dr. Cooke?
It paid more attention to the environmental effects on children's eating habits. It followed the eating habits of 5,390 children aged between 8 and 11. It showed that genetics greatly affect children's eating habits. It suggested that parents should have good eating habits.