Baby Has Hilariously 'Honest' Reaction to Trying Peas for First Time

A 6-month-old girl's hilarious reaction to tasting peas for the first time has left her mom in hysterics.

Encouraging kids to eat more fruit and vegetables is crucial to helping establish healthy dietary habits, and that starts by making them a staple of any mealtime.

In 2021, researchers from Penn State University found that simply filling half a child's plate with fruit and vegetables was enough to help increase the amounts of both that kids end up eating.

As part of the study, researchers tested out two strategies designed to encourage kids to eat more fruits and vegetables. The first involved adding 50 percent more fruit and vegetable side dishes to kids' meals throughout the day. The second involved substituting 50 percent more fruits and vegetables for an equivalent weight of the other foods, e.g. 50 grams of vegetables in place of 50 grams of pasta.

Researchers found that, while adding more fruit and vegetable side dishes resulted in kids eating 24 percent more vegetables and 33 percent more fruit, substituting them in for other foods resulted in kids eating 41 percent more vegetables and 38 percent more fruit.

Tyiesha, a mom-of-one living out in the Bronx in New York City, is very conscious of starting her infant daughter Leila on vegetables from an early age. Unfortunately, that can sometimes be easier said than done. In recent months, Tyiesha has taken to filming Leila's experiences at mealtimes, capturing some hilarious moments along the way.

"I'm a new mom and I video her all the time," Tyiesha said. "She's very photogenic. Since starting her journey with new foods, I always turn on the camera to video her among things because her personality is captivating."

One recent highlight saw Tyiesha capture the aftermath of her young daughter trying green peas for the first time, and it's fair to say she's not a fan.

In the clip, Leila can be seen happily accepting the spoonful of pea purée from her mom. Seconds later, however, Leila's inquisitive expression turns to one of disgust at what's been put in her mouth. Pretty soon, she is gagging at the taste. Tyiesha, for her part, can only look on and laugh, regaining her composure briefly at one point to catch the pea purée that her daughter ends up spitting out.

The reaction left her mom in stitches and inspired her to share the clip online, posting it to TikTok under the handle @growingupwithleila. "I couldn't stop watching it," Tyiesha said. "It made me laugh so much I thought about the fact that it could bring a lot of other people joy as well and it definitely did. Everyone hates peas."

At the time of writing, the video has been watched more than 1.5 million times, with viewers similarly amused at Leila's visceral response. "Baby girl said, immediately no," one fan commented, with another writing: "That gag reflex hit hard and fast."

A third posted: "That's how I feel about them" with a fourth adding: "I love how you had your hand ready. Perfect timing."

Tyiesha still can't quite believe Leila's response. "I was genuinely surprised by her reaction," she said. "I was laughing uncontrollably to the point I couldn't even open my eyes."

Despite this, Tyiesha puts the clip's popularity down to more than it just being a hilarious moment. "I think it's popular because it's such an honest moment," she said. "It reminded a lot of people of the precious moments they shared with their child when they were that age."

Though Leila's introduction to peas might not have gone to plan, Kyiesha said her daughter has made a great start to eating solid food. "Though she might not like some things, her curiosity toward food always gets her to at least try it before she decides she doesn't like it," she said.

"There are challenges with trying to choose things for her to eat to try to cultivate her palate because I definitely want her to enjoy a lot of foods and not be apprehensive of trying anything in the future."

Her only advice to anyone in the same position with a young child is simple: "stick with it." Kyiesha said: "Even if they don't like something, try for at least two additional days because babies might need some time to adjust to the taste and textures."

Leila might not have enjoyed peas, but Kyiesha is undeterred; next up on the menu is broccoli!