PICCOLO BABY have launched their survey results to understand whether babies of the pandemic are set to grow into a generation of foodies following a year of fuss free eating.

• 86% of parents found it easier than they expected to feed their children in lockdown.
• 56% of parents made more effort to prepare home cooked food for their babies with 78% saying they will continue to do so.
• In a survey of 1,500 parents by Piccolo, only 4% labelled their children as fussy eaters.

Whilst millions around the country were engaging in online zoom quizzes, back to back Netflix or doing up their house. A number of parents who were entering the weaning stage, had time they wouldn’t previously have had, to experiment and persevere with fussy eaters.

According to research done by leading healthy baby and toddler food brand, Piccolo, Generation Alpha Babies (born in the 20s) are set to be an age of foodies.  

There are many factors that encourage children to love food, and most of the time people will argue that it is down to taste buds! However, research done by Piccolo of parents with children aged 2 and under shows that 86% found it easier than they expected to feed their children in lockdown with only 4% of parents labelling their children as fussy! 

Surely fussiness is a rite of passage for a strong willed little one… But parents have been surprised by the adventurousness of their children over the past year. Families believe that this was due to having more time to plan meals and eat them, children being willing to try new foods and having additional support from their partner.

Infant nutritionist, Alice Fotheringham, has looked into factors that might be encouraging children to eat and love their food:

• Babies are great mimics. As we have been eating a lot more at home as a family, babies will have been watching their family eating regularly, probably at similar times and at a similar place in the house a few times a day. This will be having a far bigger impact than we know as babies do what we do, not what we say!
• Eating with mum and dad. Parents are far more likely to get their little one to try a bit of what they are having if they are at home making most meals. This saves on having to think up what to make them and will be encouraging them to try new flavours.
• Babies like and thrive off routine. And being at home, you are much more likely to have more of a routine around mealtimes rather than grabbing something to go when you are out and about. This has probably meant mealtimes are more relaxed affairs, giving babies more time to explore the tastes and food you put in front of them. A whole lot messier for you, a whole lot more fun for them!

As the world locked down, 56% of parents made more effort to prepare home cooked food for their babies with 78% saying they will continue to do so.  

As part of the survey, Piccolo asked parents what their child’s favourite meal was and 86% said that it was a pasta dish, with the most popular flavour being Spaghetti Bolognese. When asked what worries parents most about feeding their children, 63% said choking.  

By listening to what parents have to say and encouraging them to keep up this home cooking trend with little ones interested in food, Piccolo is extending their popular cooking range, launching family favourites risotto, gluten free pasta and 5 new stir-in pasta sauces. 

The pasta comes in two forms: Macaroni and Gemmini, and along with the risotto, the food is perfectly sized for little mouths to prevent choking. All new stir in sauces have been created by the Italian Nonna of the Piccolo family, Cat Gazzoli’s mother in law. 

Cat Gazzoli Founder of Piccolo comments:

‘Having had a lockdown baby myself, I can see first-hand how much easier it has been to wean and feed my now 1 year old! As a food lover, I am delighted to see my daughter Scarlett enjoy mealtimes. I come from a traditional Italian family where meals are sacred family time and we treat it the same with our children and make sure we all eat delicious and nutritious home cooked food together.  

 

As life starts to get busy again, we want to encourage parents to keep cooking by providing easy to use healthy ingredients. Following a successful year in 2020 for our cooking range, we saw this ‘Home Cooking’ trend as an opportunity to increase our offering, as the need for products which support parents’ cooking heightened.’