Why do some moms think that starting a baby on fruits instead of veggies will make them not like veggies?

Because it's an old wives tale, and by nature people believe it. They think that since someone said it and it seems to make sense it's true.

I do agree that your "proof" is pretty weak. Carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash are sweeter veggies. Take a bite of squash and then a bite of broccoli and see if you can taste the savor difference.

You also have found the answer. You're looking for some profound reason why people believe it, and there isn't one.

The only reason people believe that giving fruits first will make them not like veggies is because they think it will cause a sweet tooth. Of course this is false. First, breast milk is much sweeter than fruits. If the argument of sweet stuff first will cause babies to not like anything but sweet stuff were true, no breast fed baby would want anything but sugar.

Second, people forget that a "sweet tooth" is a learned behavior, not instinctual. We don't naturally prefer sweets over other savors. The preference for sweets comes from how we eat them. Sweets are usually used as a treat, reward, and celebration. We tend to think of them as the good thing we get after we have done something hard. Sometimes this is as simple as eating all of our "healthy food" and then getting dessert as a reward. Other times it is a birthday cake to celebrate someone's life, a plate of chocolate chip cookies after a long day at school, a trip to Cold Stone after a late business meeting etc. Get my point? As a people we tend to associate sweet foods as a way to comfort ourselves and reward our selves. This means that our preference for sweets is learned, not instinctual. Imagine a family where all of those special occasions were celebrated with a relish tray instead? Those people would definitely not think that giving a baby fruits before veggies would make them not want veggies.

I've heard that said, but, as far as I know, it is very common to begin introducing a "gentle" fruit like applesauce first, because it goes well with rice cereal and is mild on the digestive system. Vegetables can be a little harsher.

Babies I've known generally get a little fruit with their cereal and then the lunch and dinner cereal gets switched to vegetables with a fruit (like half a jar or strained vegetable and half a jar of fruit). They do seem to get a little "thrown off" for a minute when they first taste vegetables, but the vegetables are warm. There's always some vegetables they like better than others, but most babies I've known like the most "standard" vegetables.

From what I've seen, a lot of parents automatically assume vegetables are going to be a challenge for babies; but sometimes that's putting their own attitude on the vegetables and the baby. If you just relax and introduce each fruit or vegetable one at a time babies just kind of go with it.

What is good, though, is not to get them used to sugar or salt added to their foods. My kids just grew up never adding salt, sugar, butter, mayonnaise, etc. - and that's not a bad thing.

I suppose it depends on the age of the baby when solids are introduced. Something like applesauce is part of the bland, easily digested, BRAT diet recommended when a child is sick; so that points out that it is easier to digest than vegetables. The younger the baby, the more important it is to introduce the easier to digest foods first.

Aren't carrots kind of sweet anyway.....?

Some babies will not take veggies if they've been introduced fruits first. Some don't care. I think most people say this just to be on the safe side of things. We started solids with Noah the past 3 weeks or so and he eats either one just fine, he's just not that picky.

I started my daughter at 6 months and she just wasn't ready. She'd spit it out, stick her tongue out, turn her head away, she just didn't want it. So I put it on the backburner for a while. Tried again at 7 months. Still spitting. We'd give her a spoonfull here and there of various things every few days but she just wasn't having any of it. At around 10 months is when she really started to go gungho on foods. I never went the cereal route (do some research, there's vitamins, but not much else and it fills them up and they don't get everything else they need because they are too full to eat anything else). By 10 months she could do a lot of finger foods so we never really did jarred stuff at all. Just would basically cook to very soft almost everything we were eating.

Your child proved it to be false, but for my first child that statement was true. I think part of it is because children often reject things on the first, second, third offering. So if you start with something sweet and they like it, then try veggies and they reject it, parents just assume it's because they prefer sweet, not because you may have to offer a new food 10 times before it's accepted. My first food was a green bean!

Well, it makes sense, but our Dr said that it was a lie, especially because my son is breastfed, and breast milk is really sweet, so it shouldn't matter. My son doesn't like carrots much, but he loves his veggies and other fruits

Oh and why does it matter to you? Every baby is different, just because YOUR child is like that doesn't mean EVERY child is the same way.

my baby could never tolerate fruits, because of her reflux; therefore, i started her on veggies first. however, because yogurt seemed to help her reflux immensely, i had to mix that with everything. yeah, it sounds nasty... veggies and yogurt, but thats the only way she could get it down! anyways, point being, my mama said id never get her to like veggies alone, because of the sweet yogurt, but she was wrong! my little girl loves her veggies, so it just all depends on your baby!

My daughter totally doesn't care. She eats whatever really. I'm sure it does prove true for some kids though.

Fruits tend to be more sugary. Veggies are not. Start with Veggies so they get use to the none sugary stuff. Plus they are usually packed with more vitamins then fruit.

I've heard lots of people say that too...because it's true. But I assume that babies, being individual humans, will vary and prefer different foods to their own taste.