Developmental characteristics of infants and young children’s sense of taste

The fetus has a weak response to strong taste stimuli in the mother’s womb, such as when the mother eats stimulating foods like garlic. After 1~4 months of life, the fetus has a clear preference for sweet taste. 4~6 months of age, the fetus has a clear preference for commonly exposed tastes including bitter taste, which is the window period of taste plasticity. 6~12 months of age, the fetus forms a preference for taste and food material. 1~2 years of age, the fetus forms a psychological experience of taste and can judge the taste by the appearance of food, whether to accept or reject it, and reject new exposure to taste. Therefore, anorexia in children should be prevented from 6 months of age, and more taste stimulation and a variety of taste interventions can prevent anorexia and paranoia in children in the future Zhou Zheng, Department of Pediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine