French Kids Eat Everything [book]

msdivine26

I just finished reading French Kids Eat Everything. As a picky-eating adult, I read it to gain insight into WTF went wrong with me as a kid, and perhaps get some tips in how to adjust my eating habits from here forward.

Several times while reading I wanted to call or email my mother, to blame her and frustratingly demand to know why my parents hadn't taught me right about food.

But then I remembered that as I grew older, I was happy to be enabled by them and other adults. And even older, I continued to enable myself.

While I know some may have hated the book, or thought the author too whiny and that she saw French parents through rose-colored lenses, it was a perfect read for me.

And I'm already making changes to my thoughts about food, my neophobia, my shopping, cooking and eating habits. Yay.

Any other super-picky eaters out there? How does your picky eating affect your weight-loss goals and actions [and vice versa]? Any other books or resources to point to?

msdivine26

Has anyone else read this book?
Or any other picky eaters out there to commiserate?

painauxraisin

I haven't read the book, or even heard of it but, as the mother of three French children (well, half French) I can honestly say that they can be picky too! My youngest is very anti veggies! The two older ones however aren't afraid of trying anything, and my daughter insists on a plate of snails at Christmas! I can't bring myself to though !!

nxd10

My American kids eat everything too. They're particularly fond of Japanese squid snacks. Eating anything is a point of pride for them. They're also both extremely lean. And they both LOVE good food.

I did have something to do with that. But some people are just much more sensitive to sensory stimuli than anothers - particularly, smells, textures, and strong tastes. Those kids are fussier eaters, no matter how they're brought up.

(Sorry - I'm a developmental psychologist and just wrote a college lecture on this topic for a class.)

SherryTeach

As a former French teacher, traveler and friend of many French people, I know of many differences between Americans' relationship with food that of the French. They don't walk around in the street or in their cars sucking down huge drinks, they do not snack. They put careful thought into beautiful meals, which they enjoy in much smaller portions. My French friends are horrified when they visit the States and watch how we eat.

thelovelyLIZ

I honestly have a hard time relating to pick eaters. I suppose I was a little picky as a child, and I would kind of arbitrarily like or dislike foods. But my parents did a great job of always having vegetables at dinner, and packing them in my lunch. I was never pressured to eat any type of food, and certain foods I didn't like we simply didn't make. They also exposed me to a lot of foods pretty young. I grew up eating a ton of middle eastern food, because my dad worked in Saudi Arabia for nine months when I was about six, and my mom had lived in Turkey for two years with her first husband. I suppose I was taught to enjoy experience and trying new foods, which has carried over into my adult life.

I actually told my boyfriend I was glad he was adventurous with foods, or else it might have been a deal breaker. I like trying the new Ethiopian or vegan place down the block, or making new recipes. Having a partner who wasn't on board with that sort of stuff just wouldn't have been fun for me.

MrsAgi

haven't read the book, but my mother successfully gave all 4 of her daughters eating disorders!

We have all gotten over them to some extent, but much as I love her, I recognise that I'm am still seriously fu**ed up about food when she is around. Sadly she has been staying for the past week.....

With my own kids we have a couple of really simple rules about eating:

1: We will SIT AT A TABLE as a family to eat our meals. Everyone will stay at the table until everyone has finished
2: You must TRY everything on your plate. Just half a forkful is acceptable, but you will try it!
3: Everyone is served the same meal - no substitutes. No-one in my house is starving, if you don't want it, it won't kill you to miss a meal (the exception is for the couple for things I know one person really hates and has done for a while - the can have an alternative for that specific item, as long as they try it each time to check they still dislike it!)

My kids all eat pretty well, veggies included, and are always willing to try new foods:) I hope my daughters will not have the same eating issues that I and my siblings had as they get older (currently only 7 & 9)

elijhasmomma

My American kids eat everything too. They're particularly fond of Japanese squid snacks. Eating anything is a point of pride for them. They're also both extremely lean.

I did have something to do with that. But some people are just much more sensitive to sensory stimuli than anothers - particularly, smells, textures, and strong tastes. Those kids are fussier eaters, no matter how they're brought up.

(Sorry - I'm a developmental psychologist and just wrote a college lecture on this topic for a class.)

^^^ this. some kids/people are just taht way. i, too, am a psych major but i major in addiction studies. we still have to learn a lot of the basics. A lot of things can be traced back to a mental route

lornaross

I married a French man and often visit his family there. The book is correct about a lot of things. The kids sit nicely at the table and converse rather than play on computer games. They also eat a large varieties of foods without complaining.

hesn92

I should read that... my son is a picky eater and it's so annoying. I was a picky eater when I was young and my mom just enabled it. I gave my son something to eat one time and when he wouldn't eat it, my moms advice was "Why don't you just give him what he wants?!?" As if I was just a horrible parent for not doing that in the first place. Wow. Thanks for that wonderful gem of advice, mom. She is also a horribly picky eater and so is my grandma. I don't know what it is. I am not. Me and my sister actually got over that when we grew up. I will eat anything with the exception of bleu cheese. That **** should be illegal.

hesn92

As far as french kids go, I think it's nice that they eat things and do stuff without complaining, but I wouldn't want to raise my kids the way they do. I feel like they don't let their kids be kids. (Not in regards to food, but in general.) My sister lived in France for a year and the way she described it made it seem that way, anyway.

painauxraisin

As far as french kids go, I think it's nice that they eat things and do stuff without complaining, but I wouldn't want to raise my kids the way they do. I feel like they don't let their kids be kids. (Not in regards to food, but in general.) My sister lived in France for a year and the way she described it made it seem that way, anyway.

I beg to differ! Very strongly!!!

blackcoffeeandcherrypie

I am a picky eater - but I kind of like it that way. I don't feel deprived or wish I could eat other foods - if I want to try something, I do. If I don't - I don't.

To be honest, I struggle to understand why people need to overly complicate their food - most things taste pretty good just in a simple way. I see recipes sometimes with 20+ ingredients and it just seems ridiculous to me. My boyfriend is a meat and two veg kind of a guy and that's one of the things I like about him - he enjoys honest, straightforward, home cooked food. I would never want to be with someone who was eating molluscs or other weird things - it would make me not want to be around them or kiss them. If I ever look in my fridge and see snails or squid, it's over!

muamontreal

I beg to differ very strongly too... as a French mother ...living in Canada :bigsmile:

painauxraisin

It's all meat!

hopsywopsy

I haven't read the book (I intend to), but did read an article about it and it had some of the "tips" in it. One of the tips was to have a fruit bowl within the children's reach, and I have now moved our fruit bowl from the kitchen counter to the coffee table. It amazed me how much more often my son now asks for fruit to eat rather than coming into the kitchen and asking for bread sticks/treats. And I think I have started eating more fruit too!