Stephen ate well today (for him at least). He had rice with filet goulash sauce, cake, a banana, string cheese, broccoli, tuna pasta casserole, strawberry ice cream, maju, and a multivitamin. I’m sure some parents are frowning at this menu, but a recent New York Times article suggests that young children may not need the same kind of balanced diet as adults.

“Vegetables are loaded with antioxidants, which have anticancer properties, but no one knows whether these are important in children,” Dr. Bonnie Fass-Offit, a pediatrician in Philadelphia, said. “Cancers are much more common in the elderly, when our cancer cellular vigilance and immune systems start to drag. There are just too many kids who eat very few, if any, vegetables and meats, even to ages 4 and 5, and who are very healthy.”

In fact, it may be an evolutionary advantage for kids who are not willing to eat anything and everything.

A preference for bland food and avoiding distinctive or potent-tasting food can prevent a child from ingesting toxic substances, Dr. Birch said.

In any case, picky eating does not seem to put children at risk for overall nutritional deficiencies, experts said. Although picky eaters do tend to take in fewer nutrients than more diverse eaters, a majority of American children meet the recommended intakes for most nutrients, according to national data, though there are increasing numbers of malnourished children among low-income families.

The study found that among children aged 19 to 24 months, one-third did not eat any fruit servings on a given day, and 18 percent did not eat any vegetables.

“By 15 to 18 months, the most common vegetable consumed is French fries,” said Dr. Barbara Devaney, lead author of the study, which Gerber Products financed.

Compared to these kids, Stephen is doing pretty well even if he does enjoy his occasional french fries, chicken nuggets, and string cheese. (I had no idea string cheese was considered junk food.)

In advising parents, Dr. Birch and other researchers said giving up was a bad idea, but so was resorting to Herculean efforts to force children to eat foods that they do not like.

“You have to find some kind of middle ground,” Dr. Birch said. “If mealtimes become unpleasant occasions, it can lead to food dislikes, problems with regulating energy intake, and affect power dynamics in the family.”

Researchers say that as onerous as it sounds, parents should expose a child to a food at least 10 times before giving up. Most parents give up after five attempts.

If the battle is staked over vegetables, experts say, give it a rest.

“Nutritionists tend to lump fruits and vegetables together,” Dr. Birch said. “But for kids and most of us, these things are not all alike. Kids tend to eat fruits, which have a lot of the same nutrients as vegetables.”

I usually stir fry broccoli with cauliflower. While Stephen likes the broccoli, he doesn’t like cauliflower. At dinner, I slipped a few pieces of cauliflower into his mouth on the sly and he ate it without complaint. When he noticed what I was doing, though, he told me very clearly that he didn’t like it. That doesn’t mean I won’t try again next time.

Pointer from Gene Expression.