I know this sounds terrible, but would you do it?

[DaisyD]

As I said in another post, picky eaters have nothing to do with bad parenting. Its all well and good that parents started giving their kids everything at a young age. I did too. I raised 3 kids and each one ended up different as far as eating. All raised the same, all given the same healthy food since they were eating solids, and all turned out different. Just as there are some adults that are picky, there will be kids that are too. Makes no difference how they were raised. Everyone has certain likes and dislikes.

I couldn't care less who thought my bringing in a different meal to a restaurant tacky. I just made sure to speak to the restaurants before doing so. After all, the only person that needs to be concerned with what I brought was the manager and no one else. DD still ordered a drink and still got a dessert at the restaurants. I also still paid for the kids price if it were at a place like Liberty Tree tavern. No revenue is lost and everyone was happy.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

I just had to chime in on this one. LOL So if you do all the cooking....do you ALWAYS COOK everything you like or your dh likes?? There are not too many people that LOVE every food that is put in front of them. If you always cook foods that you like then is that really fair to assume that your kids are always going to eat that same food.

I am all for having kids try new foods but I have a picky eater and I just try to have things that he will eat too. For ex. if I make enchiladas which he doesn't like then I reserve some meat for him to make tacos with. When he was little I would ALWAYS have something on the table that he would eat. I just could not ever send my child to bed hungry because he wouldn't eat what I made. He has branched out as he has gotten older but if we make something he doesn't want...then he can make something out of the freezer or pantry. I don't have a problem with that and because I don't make a huge deal about it...he has grown to enjoy new foods that a few years ago he would never eat. He is 15 and will be out on his own before i know it. There are plenty of foods I would not touch as a child that I eat now. I just don't make a big deal out of the food thing. Life is too short and our kids are grown and out the door before we know it. Sure there are things that I would not allow him to do. I don't make him a separate meal by any means. Somtimes he chooses not to go out to eat with us...and that is okay too.

I am not trying to start a war here....but the OP just asked a simple question about her TS meals and WOW this thread has gone crazy. All of us as parents raise our families completely different from the next. We all vacation differently and we can all feed our children differently too. To each his own.

Yes I make foods that DH and I like and because I did/do I have kids who eat it also.Which means that we can go to any restaurant we as the adults choose to go to and know that the kids will eat without drama.We can be out and about and see a new restaurant and say "Oh lets try it" and walk thru the door and actually enjoy a family meal out.

I don't make a big deal out the food thing either--they eat it or they don't. So if we have pot roast and potatoes and green beans and they don't want pot roast then their dinner consists of potatoes and green beans. Simple enough.

How judgmental of families you know nothing about. The OP asked a question not for your parenting advice.

There's a whole thread here and a few pages back you'll find a poster who asked how to avoid having a picky eater what you read was my answer and also my opinion.

And I don't need to "know" anyone. My answers were based on what I've seen posted on many,many threads and personal experience. And from what I've read it appears that most would do well to force the issue because then they wouldn't need to post to threads about the issues they're having w/ their kids not eating and how they have to work their vacation around said kids.

Picky eaters aren't made that way--they're created--if you enable them by catering to them you're doing them a disservice.

Have an International night once a week and make dishes from around the world help your child to like a wide variety of foods--let them make something from a cookbook,start with a recipe that has foods they like in it then branch out from there.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Would it be appropriate to note that tastes, both for adults and kids, are subjective and let it go at that?

OP, I'm glad you got your questions answered. I think.

 

[bangzoom6877]

I think that even if you do the dining plan, the restaurant won't have a problem with your son eating off the kids' menu. I have read reports here that even though the person was considered an "adult" by Disney standards (over age 10), and an adult credit on the DDP, they were allowed to order off the kids' menu. The reverse is not the case...a child's credit cannot be used for an adult meal. You would, however, have to see if the DDP is worth it for you with a picky eater...I have a feeling it isn't. This is something DH and I have discussed for when our boys are older. They are 4 and almost 2 right now so it is not an issue, as they eat off the kids' menu at the child's price. When they are over 10 we will have to see if it is worth it, though DH seems to think that the boys will be eating machines by then! Only time will tell how picky they will be by age 10.

 

[badblackpug]

OP, I don't think anyone was attacking your child or your parenting. It's just that some people have very strong opinions, an aren't shy bout voicing them. I probably wouldn't bring a meal from another restaurant in. I would let him try to choose something off the menu. If he were still hungry after I would buy something after OOP. We use DDp every year. My 11 year old likes to try different things, but every once in a while she cannot find something she wants and orders off the kids' menu, it has never been a problem. She likes to order dessert off the kids menu because they are more "fun." We have never been told "no" at any restaurant.

As for picky eaters, I think it is 50/50. I think some kids are picky eaters because their palates aren't challenged to try anything different, or because they are allowed to be. For some children meal time is a big control issue/power struggle. Case in point, my friend would make a meal for her son, and if he would refuse it she would go buy him chicken nuggets at McDonalds because she didn't want him "to go hungry." I am of the camp that "you can find something on the table you like" (and one of them better be a vegetable! ) I am not a short -order cook. While I would never make a child eat something they truly dislike, I won't tolerate turning up your nose at something you haven't even tried. To digress, I really hate it when someone does the "yuk" face at your food! Children also learn by example. Some children mimic their parents reactions to things, so if you have a parent that won't eat vegetables, or whatever, the child is likely to mimic that behavior. My oldest swore she hated mushrooms for years because her father was so vocal about his dislike. She also decided broccoli was "gross" after her little friend told her that in the 4th grade. She had liked it up until that point.

I agree with the posters who said start a variety early. I have always used the rule "you have to try it, but if you really don't like it you don't have to eat it." ...but I don't tolerate refusal or "yuk face" on food items they haven't tried. 9 times out of 10, they like the things that they try. When we are on vacation or out to eat I let them order whatever they want for their meal, but have them try things off our plates. At least that way I know they eat what I paid good $$ for!

 

[keith-atl]

We really want to eat at some "grown up" places our next trip, and my DS12 is so picky there is nothing that he will eat there. Haven't made a definite decision about if we will do DDP or not. So if we wanted to buy him a take out meal at someplace like Liberty Inn and bring it to Le Cellier, would this be terribly tacky or even allowed?
Thanks for everyone's opinions-

Send him to kids club, they feed them there as well. My daughter is the same way but we always manage to find something for her.

 

[ceecee]

They have some good desserts there, so order that. DD goes wherever we do and always seems to find something to like. DD's friend is a picky 12 year old and just doesn't eat when she doesn't like something...she eats mostly apples! Her mom has always stopped and gotten her meals at Wendy's if she's fixing something at home that she doesn't like, that's not teaching her anything! So at 12 it's a joke around here that when she comes for dinner she won't like it! She's never even tried Honeydew melon!!!

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

I think I would give my kid a couple of bucks and a couple of FP's and tell him to enjoy himself while I had a relaxing grown up dinner with my hubby! Or, maybe your son would prefer to stay at the hotel and enjoy the pool and eat at the food court...