Fussy Kids Effecting Restaurant Kid Menus? Are Parents to Blame?

[mi*vida*loca]

I have resigned myself to the fact that I am going to have to buy an adults meal for the 8 year old. When I plan vacations I give everyone a list of where I am planning on eating to let them add places and everyone gets one veto. Well the only person who takes this seriously is the 8 year old. She looked over all the kids menu's and asked me when she would be an adult. By most standards here she would be classed as an adventurous eater. She vetoed my favorite HS place the Sci-Fi and likes the 50's menu (for adults). I do really wish they had kids versions of the adult meals.

I bought plenty of adult meals for my DD who was 9 last trip. Especially at QS locations.

 

[SouthJersey]

So I just watched the new WDW Discussion (04/24/2018) and found their discussion about their Best & Worst Restaurants on site really interesting. During the dialogue, Corey mentioned his experience at the Skipper Canteen, where there was "nothing for his kids to eat" (he stated that he stopped at a fast food restaurant afterwards). In a previous episode last year, Julie trashed the new Pecos Bill's menu because "there was nothing on their menu for her kids to eat". I do not mention Julie & Corey to single them out specifically because I genuinely appreciate the family perspective they bring when discussing topics (as no one else in the current group on DIS has younger children). Instead, in this case, Corey & Julie are examples of families that have children that seem to eat very limited things (which I know is very common). That said, kid menus are greatly effected because of these fussy kids - where it seems every kid menu has chicken nuggets or strips, macaroni & cheese, a Crustable sandwich and burgers as their only choices. I would argue that I wish there was MORE variety for kid menus.

I am blessed with 3 sons (17, 15 & 11). I raised my older boys with a wide variety of food of different nationalities from a young age. My youngest is my step son, and he definitely falls into the category of the fussy kid that will only eat chicken fingers everywhere we go. He was exposed to as many foods growing up and he has always been allowed to fall back on safe choices and not forced to try other varieties of food. In contrast, when my sons were younger, I had them eating off of my plate at restaurants because the kid menu selections were always the same distilled choices we constantly see. Now that my sons are older, they no longer eat off of kid menus. But for those of you that have younger children that still do, are their any parents that wish the kid menus had some better selections and don't suffer because other people have fussy kids? Is it not up to the parent to diversify their children's pallet instead of kowtowing to the 3 things they like?

I agree.
Kids these days are flooded with fast food (nuggets/burgers) or even low-quality 'restaurants' like Friendly's. And, not by coincidence, the primary items are the same items we see on standard boring kids menus everywhere - chicken nuggets/tenders, burgers, mac & cheese, grilled cheese etc. It's not like young humans have a chicken-tender-only palate, it's simply cultural here - cheap, easy, fast. Throw some dinosaur nuggets on an oven rack or microwave - boom. Then, like any normal kid, they're going to oppose new foods and instead of pushing past that slight defiance of "no i want nuggets!" and trying new foods, the parents cave immediately. The kids menu's you cited are practically universal, but don't exist in ANY other nation as common children's food lol.

It's a shame because my nieces and nephews love actual food and are open to trying anything instead of contorting their face and throwing a tantrum or flatout refusing to simply try something like the countless kids I see. We usually end up opting for a few appetizers for them to make a meal out of instead of more nuggets, fries, burgers and mac & cheese.

You'll probably have to edit and replace 'fussy' with 'picky eater' before some parent has a meltdown that we'd consider little angel bobby to be 'fussy'

 

[Arielfan98]

I definitely find the kid's choices to be limited. My boys (11 and 8) don't mind chicken fingers or pizza once in awhile, but they certainly don't want those for every meal. They usually want to order off the adult menu, but I hate paying the adult price when I know they can't finish the portion size. The perfect solution, IMO, would be for every restaurant to allow kids to order a child size portion (at a reduced price) of every adult meal on the menu.

I second this. I'm 21 now, but I remember being an adventurous eater as a child. Yes, I did place some blame on the way other children ate, but luckily my parents let me nibble on their food.

 

[KenHutch]

I bought plenty of adult meals for my DD who was 9 last trip. Especially at QS locations.

Glad to hear I am not alone. Lucky for me so far I just have to buy an adult meal at 50's Primetime, Trattoria and Jiko.

 

[Arielfan98]

My question is.....did Corey and his wife ask their server if they could make special accommodations for their children? There are times when I won't care for anything on the menu at any restaurant, so I'll ask for a plain grilled chicken breast with a carb and vegetable. Most places are willing to respect this request. I understand this request should not be expected to be honored...but I'm wondering if they even made an attempt to ask. Second, why didn't they research the menu before going? Call me a foodie, but I do this all the time for my own health reasons. Perhaps there's something I'm missing but these 2 questions stick in my mind when people complain about Skipper's Canteen being too exotic.

 

[richkaryn]

I also think it can go the opposite direction with exposure. If exposed to something so much, you can acquire a distaste for it. My MIL cooks a few different meats and there are mashed potatoes at dinner EVERY SINGLE NIGHT in their house. Along with mashed potatoes there is always a rotation of 2-3 of the following: macaroni, fried corn, carrots, green beans. My husband used to like mashed potatoes when younger but he refuses to eat them at all now because he had them every single night in his house until he was old enough to drive and get himself something different.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

No offense is meant by the term fussy or picky. My son’s 2 best friends, whom I took to Disney from the age of 4, both had this diet: chicken nuggets, Mac & Cheese, corn, cheese sticks, chocolate milk, and ketchup, lots and lots of ketchup (maybe counts as a vegetable at that point) yogurt and Boost. This is what they ate for 10 years. Not a healthy diet, both had nutritional issues, intestinal issues. It was hard on everyone, but when at Disney, it was cheap and easy and seeing my son eating steak, broccoli, salad with vinaigrette, though a peer, it never encouraged them to eat differently! Thankfully they both outgrew it. Now they cost me an arm and a leg to feed. No one, child or adult is expected to like everything but there are picky/fussy eaters and how they get this way????

 

[disneyvoice]

Also, keep in mind that there are a lot of families out there whose typical family dinners consist of hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza, and hamburgers. They don't think of their kids as picky eaters because those kinds of food are the only things they eat as well. So much of it has to do with how you were raised. I was raised eating a wide variety of foods with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as food from a variety of cultures. However the only "vegetables" my husband was served as a child were corn and potatoes, or for special occasions a salad that consisted of ONLY iceberg lettuce with ranch dressing. If they went out to eat it was always to either Pizza Hut or Dairy Queen. My in-laws think their diet is completely healthy and normal. My husband has now acquired a taste for all kinds of food and he enjoys the meals that I cook. However, when my in-laws visit we always have to change around what we eat and the restaurants we go to because they think the things I make are way too exotic of their taste. A simple meal of grilled salmon, asparagus, and rosemary potatoes is too fancy for them. They always ask my husband if I ever make "normal" meals and are convinced he must not really like anything I make. So I think my in laws are picky eaters but they think the food I eat is weird.

"Picky" is relative to what you are used too. I sometimes still think of my son as "picky" because he doesn't like sushi or Indian food and prefers that his food not be too spicy. My husband thinks I am picky because I refuse to eat mayonnaise or raw onions. I could never imagine my son only eating the items that are found on all the kid's menus at WDW but that's only because we never routinely ate those items at home. The assumption seems to be that the parents are eating a wide variety of foods and then prepare a special meal for their kids when they refuse to eat the healthier stuff but there are a lot of families who only live on fast food and processed foods.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Also, keep in mind that there are a lot of families out there whose typical family dinners consist of hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza, and hamburgers. They don't think of their kids as picky eaters because those kinds of food are the only things they eat as well. So much of it has to do with how you were raised. I was raised eating a wide variety of foods with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as food from a variety of cultures. However the only "vegetables" my husband was served as a child were corn and potatoes, or for special occasions a salad that consisted of ONLY iceberg lettuce with ranch dressing. If they went out to eat it was always to either Pizza Hut or Dairy Queen. My in-laws think their diet is completely healthy and normal. My husband has now acquired a taste for all kinds of food and he enjoys the meals that I cook. However, when my in-laws visit we always have to change around what we eat and the restaurants we go to because they think the things I make are way too exotic of their taste. A simple meal of grilled salmon, asparagus, and rosemary potatoes is too fancy for them. They always ask my husband if I ever make "normal" meals and are convinced he must not really like anything I make. So I think my in laws are picky eaters but they think the food I eat is weird.

"Picky" is relative to what you are used too. I sometimes still think of my son as "picky" because he doesn't like sushi or Indian food and prefers that his food not be too spicy. My husband thinks I am picky because I refuse to eat mayonnaise or raw onions. I could never imagine my son only eating the items that are found on all the kid's menus at WDW but that's only because we never routinely ate those items at home. The assumption seems to be that the parents are eating a wide variety of foods and then prepare a special meal for their kids when they refuse to eat the healthier stuff. Their are a lot of families who live on fast food and processed foods.

Thanks for setting me straight on the whole "someone is picky in my dining party" thingie. Best explanation of it's definition from a member of a younger generation than my own.

 

[Jaime4004]

I check out all the menus before we go and make sure everyone will eat something. There's plenty to choose from, so it's never an issue. At home, I make one dinner and if they don't like it, they can make something else themselves. But in Disney, a hungry, cranky kid is not my idea of fun. I have 3 children, all raised with the same exact foods. One is super picky, one is in the middle and one eats absolutely anything. The one who eats everything, and loves to try new foods, also has the smallest appetite. So I do wish that more restaurants offered a 1/2 portion of the adult menu for this. We have one restaurant that I know of where we live that does it, it's fabulous!

 

[goofyintoronto]

This is an interesting article: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/...ibition_and_emmett_holt_gave_rise_to_kid.html
I don't think it is all about picky eaters. I also think it is about cost.

And as far as the comment about how kids in the 20s or 60s were better...eating what is put in front of you as an American middle class child in the 1960s does not equal an adventurous eater. My father-in-law was born in the 1940s to a poor rural family and you better believe he ate everything his mom put in front of him. When he went in the USMC, he also ate what he could. You could actually argue that he is less fussy than some people on dining threads who won't eat pizza outside of NY or won't eat at an Olive Garden or McDs because it's not good enough for them. However, he is one of the least adventurous eaters I know. He found something to eat at Boma, for instance, but was not a big fan.

Also, the parenting thing, as others have said, I have 3 children and they are all different. Even my twins who have been exposed to the EXACT same food have different tastes. My son is much more picky than my daughter. We went to a party that had chicken from a Caribbean restaurant and rice and beans but also pizza and chips. My daughter ate the Caribbean food, my son wouldn't even eat the pizza because he has decided he doesn't like sauce on pizza because it is too spicy.

I know that Americans have a generally unhealthy diet, but I'm not sure that means that kids from other countries have no "fussy" eating. My kids might turn their noses up at curry, but an Indian kid might not want to eat sushi. My kids wouldn't eat escargot, but they eat venison regularly.

Perhaps you quoted me by mistake? Either way, thanks for the article. It was quite interesting.

 

[cadien]

However, when my in-laws visit we always have to change around what we eat and the restaurants we go to because they think the things I make are way too exotic of their taste. A simple meal of grilled salmon, asparagus, and rosemary potatoes is too fancy for them.

Now that you mention it, that's my in-laws too. We always have to find the simplest, steak-and-potatoes restaurants with them. It's not always children.

 

[scrapquitler]

I also think it can go the opposite direction with exposure. If exposed to something so much, you can acquire a distaste for it. My MIL cooks a few different meats and there are mashed potatoes at dinner EVERY SINGLE NIGHT in their house. Along with mashed potatoes there is always a rotation of 2-3 of the following: macaroni, fried corn, carrots, green beans. My husband used to like mashed potatoes when younger but he refuses to eat them at all now because he had them every single night in his house until he was old enough to drive and get himself something different.

I'm right there with your husband on the mashed potatoes. Dad loved mashed potatoes, so Mom made them about 4 times a week. After we got married, hubby said "Why don't you ever make mashed potatoes except for Thanksgiving?" It was because I ate too many of them as a child. Two or three times a year is PLENTY of mashed potatoes for me.

 

[Jess_S]

When my son was first transitioning to solid foods, we gave him whatever we were eating and he ate it all happily. As a 5 year old, he has limited himself to a very short list of foods and more or less refuses to try new ones. He goes without dinner many nights because we don't cook him special food if he won't eat what we are serving. Based upon that experience, I don't think that parents are to blame if their kids are picky.

Interestingly, my son won't eat pretty much any of the standard kid foods. That is, in part, because we're vegetarian -- so no burgers or nuggets. But he also won't eat pasta, mac and cheese, uncrustables, etc. He does things like spicy black bean burgers and tofu stir fry, which are never on kids menus. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this -- other than that there probably isn't a way to satisfy everyone with a kids menu. I do like the idea that others have mentioned of smaller portions of adult meals for kids.

 

[MomOTwins]

Unless I missed it, I am surprised nobody has mentioned the buffets! When we use the dining plan, we always go to buffets for our table service credits because they are a much better value for the kids meal than the sit down restaurants (often, the child's buffet price is more than the per-day cost of a child dining plan!). The variety at the buffet is huge, and we have always been impressed by the quality everywhere EXCEPT Chef Mickey's.

As another poster mentioned, quick service credits do not require a child to order off the kid's menu. There are no "adult" or "child" credits for quick service, so you can choose anything on the menu.

And if you are not on the dining plan, I don't see how you can fault disney for asking you pay adult price for an adult entree. It costs them a lot more to prepare sea bass or pork chops than chicken nuggets and pizza, so of course they want you to pay the adult price if you want something more high-end. That said we found the "Mickey check" kids menu options available at table service restaurants can be a real steal for our kids when we are paying out of pocket -- $11-13 for steak or salmon!

 

[zebrastreyepz]

I think it's none of my business how another person teaches their child to eat.

Just because they do it different than me, doesn't mean it's wrong.

Also, Disney does what's best for their monetary bottom line in all areas. If a menu is lacking choices, that is why.

It's no different than Ford announcing their only going to sell 2 cars from here on out because the others simply aren't selling. Should they keep making a Taurus for the few who buy them? Or focus on what works best overall for the company?

 

[orangecuse]

So I have a not yet 1 year old, so I am not touching the kid eating issue and jinxing myself for later lol

I will say I agree with whoever said picky is relative. I won’t eat pork or much red meat so my in-laws call me picky. I would consider them picky because they only want basic meat and potatoes while I (and my husband) will try almost anything.

 

[missbrooke06]

American kids just don't have palletes.

I don't know. I think a lot of them are talented artists but maybe they just keep their paints in boxes?

 

[JerseyJanice]

When I was growing up, you ate what my mother cooked or you went to bed hungry.

Fortunately, I liked most of her cooking. There was one meal she made that I loathed. Stuffed peppers—the filling had ground beef and rice, and it was topped with tomato sauce. She served it with mashed potatoes, and she and my dad and my siblings ate this meal happily with the tomato sauce on the mashed. Yuck! To this day, I think it’s a revolting meal.

But she would put it on the table and look at me with my face all puckered up and full of attitude, and say, “This is not a diner! Do you see a menu here? If you don’t want what I cooked, don’t eat!”

And she wasn’t fooling around. When I got a little older, I could fix myself a grilled cheese sandwich and clean the pan, then help her with the rest of the dishes. (She was an RN who could give Nurse Rachet a run for her money.)

When my BFF had a son 5 years before mine was born, I noticed that she made two dinners almost every night. One for her and her DH, and one for her child. I remembered my mom’s toughness and thought to myself that there was no way I was cooking two meals every night.

So when my son was about one year old I started feeding him whatever we ate, chopped up small. He grew up eating normal food, and therefore, was always a normal eater. He didn’t get mac & cheese or chicken nuggets for dinner. He got steak and fries, or roast chicken and mashed potatoes from the time he could walk.

So I typed all this to say that I do think many modern women aren’t into cooking and just feed their kids quick, easy stuff like Dino Nuggets and get take-out for themselves and their husbands. Lots of them work, so I do get it.

 

[Pumbaa_]

If you are on the dining plan you can age a child up to get the adult plan
Qs has pooled credits, can order adult options regardless of age
Dxdp credits are also pooled

Just a thought