Parents, Stop Giving In To 'Picky Eaters'!

[a paper star]

Okay, I'm not a parent but I am a picky eater, I've had the habit since I was a little kid. (BTW this situation is only mine so don't jump all over my back!) I am an only child and my parents let me have what I wanted(this included fast food and junk food). I hated 'healthy foods' and therefore wasn't made to eat them. Because of this I grew up with unhealthy eating habits. It wasn't until about 6 years ago I decided to make some changes now I eat vegetables and healthier foods, I mean I still eat sweets but not like I used to.

 

[cheermom1]

Okay, I'm not a parent but I am a picky eater, I've had the habit since I was a little kid. (BTW this situation is only mine so don't jump all over my back!) I am an only child and my parents let me have what I wanted(this included fast food and junk food). I hated 'healthy foods' and therefore wasn't made to eat them. Because of this I grew up with unhealthy eating habits. It wasn't until about 6 years ago I decided to make some changes now I eat vegetables and healthier foods, I mean I still eat sweets but not like I used to.

Perfect example of what the op was talking about. Sorry a paper star and I'm glad you are trying to introduce new and better food for yourself.

I worked with a woman that said the same thing and really was upset with her parents for not making her eat more healthy foods. She said she would NEVER do that to her kids and said that the way her parents did it was the easy way out. She said that she knew it would be much harder but she was willing to do go the extra mile for her kids. I felt kinda bad for her as her kids were babies and she had a long hard road ahead of her.

 

[saradela]

High Society children doesn´t have picky eaters......all over the globe is the same....part of the education........"eat what is offered always....with grace", you maybe eating at Beijin animals you event heard they exist, or in India, Japan, Vietnam or the Phillipines and you are a honored guest.......you can not disappoint your host. In the other hand, poor children are not picky eaters also, they eat what is available. The middle class children are the ones with the problem, also facing overweight....

 

[Ericandjenng]

My DS is 6 now and is a picky eater. But some of the stuff on his 'will eat' list are fruits and veggies...he gets apple sauce or other fruit everyday at school. He loves broccoli and carrots, will not eat any sauce or condiment except for Marinara on pasta. He likes some cheese and loves pasta but NOT mac & cheese! He loves burgers from just about anywhere...PLAIN and no bread.

I have asked the Pediatrician every year at his check up and until this year, they kept telling me to not worry as long as he is getting at least some variety and if necessary give him a multi-vitamin. This year the NP told him to try new things at least 10 times before deciding he doesn't like it. He agreed to it....we'll see. I'd be more worried if he only ate one or two things or refused to eat all veggies and fruits....But actually he was never 'into' eating even as an infant. Hopefully DD will be better...she seems to love to eat already...

BTW...he's not overweight and his height/weight fall in the same area on the "norm" chart...he's taller and heavier than the average child but he can also carry a 2x4 by himself and lift a 40 lb sack of playsand. He also plays soccer, loves swimming and is very active...so there's more to the overall health of children than just what they eat.

 

[rie'smom]

I've seen so many parents post questions on these boards like, 'my two year old only eats pancakes and cheese pizza, where can we find these at Disney?'

(Excuse me while I hoist myself on this soapbox...)
Parents who give in to their kids' 'picky' food habits are doing their kids an incredible disservice. Healthy eating habits are formed in the first few years of life, and when kids are only given 'kids foods' like fried chicken fingers and pizza, guess how they'll continue to eat as they age?

I'm sure many parents will come back at me saying, 'but my Johnny won't eat any vegetables, and I don't want him to STARVE'! Guess what, Johnny won't starve. He'll eat what you give him. And when he's older, he'll thank you for loving him enough to set standards for his well-being. You are the parent. Do your job, stay in control.

I'd love your opinions!

Why would it bother you? I see your 2 cats in your signature so I'm guessing you don't have kids. It's pretty typical of those who don't have kids to try to tell those who do how best to raise them.
One of my sons loved vegetables and disliked meat, the other son was just the opposite. Today, they're grown men and both eat everything. When I was a child a teacher forced me to eat beets because they were good for me. I still will not eat them today.

 

[TwinsinCA]

Are you kidding me I say go mom!!! I know for a fact some kids make themselves throw up to get out of eating something they don't want. Mother's know their children and if you think this is what they are doing I say make them clean it up and then eat!

No, I am not kidding.

I had lots more to say but I decided it is pointless to argue. This reminds me of the spanking thread. One side considers it abuse and the other as needed discipline. I feel that strongly about these food issues. And we clearly disagree.

 

[AndyLL]

My wife was forced to eat everything as a kid. She became anorexic when she could start making choices on her own. I weaned her into eating better and she actually became not so picky. (although she has developed a host of medical issues that I and some of her Drs attribute to her anorexia)

I also was forced to eat everything and to this day I am a horriblely picky eater. I'd love to be able to fish and chicken when I travel but although I've tried many times I still gag when I eat it.

My son quit eating meat when he turned about 3. He also over time has quit eating foods that before he enjoyed.

According to the OP (and others here) I should be forcing my kid to eat meat?

I guess I should also force my 49 year old sister to eat meat when she visits.

A good friend of mine from work has never eaten a sandwich in his life. I'll make the OP proud of me and only have sandwiches available when he comes over.

Heck...if Jay Leno ever visits me I'll make sure he eats some vegetables.

Now that the food issue is settled... can the childless OP give us some advice on spanking, strollers for older kids at Disneyland, leashes for kids at Disneyland, forcing kids to ride rides they are scared of, home schooling, unschooling, giving all kids trophies in non-competitive sports leagues, when kids can deal with bullys on their own, when kids can be responsible for their own homework, and most importantly... when to let my kid know that if he sticks his male parts into female parts that baby parts my result.

 

[teskak]

Before this thread gets closed.......

If there are not so many picky eaters, then why oh why are the kids menus at WDW predominantly chicken fingers / mac & cheese.

We are flying to WDW in December before the podcast cruise and it is looking like we will need to book buffets so that dd6 will be able to eat what I would call normal foods or otherwise pay OOP for a third entree as there is no way she is going to eat 7 days worth of chicken fingers while we enjoy other regular foods.

BTW her favourite foods are salmon sashimi, raw broccoli, pasta and carrots

 

[PaulaSB12]

If you have a garden and your child doesn't like veggies. How about getting the child to buy some seeds and grow some? It might give them the desire to try something they have the pride in growing? As for children's menus my sister has 16 year old triplet and never fed the from the kids menus because she didn't like the type of food they had on them.

 

[Tiggernut_jadie]

Thanks for all your responses! Just so you all know, I fully respect everyone's opinions, whether they agree with me or not. It's interesting to see all of the perspectives.

I don't have kids, and I don't think that my lack of kids makes what I'm saying any less valid.It's just common sense! YOU are the parent...and it is your responsibility to make sure your kids are doing healthy things...I don't care whether they whine, cry, scream or tell you they hate you a million times. They are children, and they need guidance. Letting your kid do whatever he wants will lead to a slew of problems in the future.

Come back to me when you HAVE kids and we'll talk then!

 

[Crystal0608]

I'm a picky eater. As long as I can remember I have been. If I don't like the smell of something it sure isn't going in my mouth. Mayo, ketchup, peppers, bananas, fish, and salad top my list of things I won't eat. I'm 30 and I eat a much larger variety than when I was say 10.

When dd (9) was a baby she liked most baby food except meat. She wasn't too picky until about 3. She doesn't like red meat. She will eat chicken, fish (in stick form lol), shrimp, and bacon. She won't eat fruits or veggies (only likes potatoes, onions, and sundried tomatoes), but she will drink about any fruit juice or V8 splash, smoothies w/ hidden fruit, or stuff with pureed baby food hidden in there or minced spinach called "herbs" (I grow and herb garden, so totally believable). She eats most dairy and whole grains. Her foods cannot touch or be mixed up and until I was much older I was the same way. I've tried the take a tiny bite thing and her gagging and throwing up. It was gross and didn't work for us.

 

[Pastamom]

HI

Before DH and I had kids, I envisioned peaceful dinners, where my boys loved everything I made. Then reality hit and hit hard
All they wanted was chicken nuggets, hot dogs and mac-n-cheese.
My dreams were shattered.


Not sure if this was mentioned yet. But we had 2 very picky eaters. I got tired of making 2 meals every night. When they were around 5 (no 8 and 10) we began "thank-you bites" When I introduced a new food I served a bite. There were some long nights in the beginning. If they chose not to have the thank you bite for dinner, they had it for breakfast, lunch - until they would try it...(DS #2 went a long time before trying the brussel sprout...). They learned that they could "survive" any food.

Flashforward 4 years, they will try anything. DS #2 likes brussel sprouts, loves squid rings and is always stealing my salad when he can etc. DS #1 loves crab legs, salmon and eats everything in sight.

There are still things that they don't like, and at times I do try to accomodate them when it's convenient for me. For example do you want the sauce on the chicken?

We still talk and laugh about the time id took DS#2 1 1/2 days to eat a 1/2 of a brussel sprout. Even the boys.

 

[Ceila]

I do have kids and I agree with those who say don't give in to picky eaters. Howver, I will say that I also believe that picky eaters are usually made, not born. So, the problem is really in the early years when parents don't expose their children to a wide variety of foods or when they don't continue to expose them to foods they have decided they don't like.

We have always had the "one bite" rule in our house. The kids have to eat at least one bite of everything served, even if they think they don't like it. And they've come to love some foods because of this. Neither kid liked broccoli when they first tried it. It's now their one of their favorite hot vegetables. We never forced them to finish a full serving, because it could make a child resentful and we also think that can cause food issues later in life. But it's amazing how kids will come to like foods just through repeaed exposure.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Before this thread gets closed.......

If there are not so many picky eaters, then why oh why are the kids menus at WDW predominantly chicken fingers / mac & cheese.

We are flying to WDW in December before the podcast cruise and it is looking like we will need to book buffets so that dd6 will be able to eat what I would call normal foods or otherwise pay OOP for a third entree as there is no way she is going to eat 7 days worth of chicken fingers while we enjoy other regular foods.

BTW her favourite foods are salmon sashimi, raw broccoli, pasta and carrots

Pretty much ALL of the sit down restaurants have healthy choices. So you are not forced to stick to the chicken fingers/mac & cheese.

The counter service do have mostly that, though some (I have noticed) do have healthier options for the kids. But we must remember that most of the counter service is fast food--hence the kids options are going to be "Fast food" like.

It's an exaggeration that Disney "only" serves the crap to kids.

Also--children are not prohibited from ordering off of the main menu either.

All this grief about how parents will feed their picky kids--I think has misled those of us with children that have more worldly palates that their own kids may starve at Disney due to lack of options.

Seems people should do their research when it comes to Disney. They do a pretty good job catering to people of all kinds of palates from the picky to the exceptional.

 

[PlainJane]

I was a picky kid. Not an extreme case (i.e. only eats chicken fingers). There were very few foods that I didn't eat because I didn't like the taste. I mostly disliked some textures of food, sometimes to the point of a gag reflux. As long as I ate something on my plate, my parents let it go when I was a kid. If they had wanted me to eat more than that they would have to of outright punished me, and it would have had to be a doozy, because I wouldn't have given in based on "starvation" until at least day 2.

As I've aged my reaction to certain textures has subsided, and I really don't consider myself picky anymore.

So, not all picky kids are doomed to be picky adults.

 

[Ceila]

Pretty much ALL of the sit down restaurants have healthy choices. So you are not forced to stick to the chicken fingers/mac & cheese.

The counter service do have mostly that, though some (I have noticed) do have healthier options for the kids. But we must remember that most of the counter service is fast food--hence the kids options are going to be "Fast food" like.

It's an exaggeration that Disney "only" serves the crap to kids.

Also--children are not prohibited from ordering off of the main menu either.

All this grief about how parents will feed their picky kids--I think has misled those of us with children that have more worldly palates that their own kids may starve at Disney due to lack of options.

Seems people should do their research when it comes to Disney. They do a pretty good job catering to people of all kinds of palates from the picky to the exceptional.

You're so right! There really are a lot of options for all kids. For example, the CS restaurant at The Land in Epcot has great healthy options. I remember a few years ago they had some kind of roasted chicken meal that our kids shared. Cantina de San Angel also has chicken tacos, which our kids loved.

 

[jamimb]

I wish someone would please define "picky" for me. I wont eat shrimp, sweet potatoes, or brussel sprouts but I don't consider myself picky. Almost everyone on the planet has a list of foods that don't like or will not eat that doesn't make them picky. The OP is not talking about force feeding your children foods they don't like only catering to your child's every culinary whim not matter how unhealthy or ridiculous.

 

[Christine]

I wish someone would please define "picky" for me. I wont eat shrimp, sweet potatoes, or brussel sprouts but I don't consider myself picky. Almost everyone on the planet has a list of foods that don't like or will not eat that doesn't make them picky. The OP is not talking about force feeding your children foods they don't like only catering to your child's every culinary whim not matter how unhealthy or ridiculous.

My definition of picky (especially in a child) is when an person has a list of about 10 things they will ONLY eat. There "no eat" list is a mile long and restricts their eating immensely.

 

[luvmy3]

My definition of picky (especially in a child) is when an person has a list of about 10 things they will ONLY eat. There "no eat" list is a mile long and restricts their eating immensely.

ITA, and it doesn't mean fast or junk food only. My picky eater likes veggies and meats, he is just very particular about which ones.

 

[PixieTopaz]

I had a very, very picky eater. I read a parenting book that said fighting over food was not a good thing.

So I didnt force him to eat the pizza with everything when he wanted ONLY A PEPPERONI pizza (this was a battle My Mom and I had and punished my son by not giving him dessert the LAST time she ever babysat for me)

He loved mac and cheese and chicken nuggets and burgers. Picky

He's grown and eats the most exotic "over the top " foods of all ethnic cooking imaginable. But I would not force him to "just try the brussesl sprouts" when he was little