Anyone else have an Uber-Picky Eater Child?

glovepuppet

I lie. *GASP* Yes I do. Are there onions in here? You see any? No? Well, that's because they're not there (visibly)... I used to blend everything. He's 13 now and will try more and more, but the structure of the food is his main issue (almost like Asperger's), so I keep blending the pasta sauce. Juicing works for fruits. Thank God he now likes celery and carrots...

i'm super anti fibbing to my kids. if i lie to them, how can i expect them to trust me? if i lie to them, how can i expect honesty from them? my mother used to tell lies like that and it just made me sceptical about everything she told me.

ldrosophila

I like that you make finding healthy foods fun. And I like that you don't force feed your daughter a vegetable over and over if she doesn't like it.
My mom made eggplant parmesan once when I was about 7 or 8. I hated it with a passion. She never made it again. I am the oldest of 7 kids. We don't have a small family and I was the only one who didn't like that meal. But when she cooks for everyone, she wants everyone to eat. She loves to try different recipes and she will. With different ingrdients and different vegetables and different combinations. She finds out the healthy family favorites over time and will make those more often. She never catered to one kid's taste.

Also since there were so many of us, a lot of the stricter rules she enforced on my brother and I (we were the oldest). As more kids came along, the rules were more relaxed. haha We always pick on her for that. :laugh:

thanks

this week, at 16, she's packing herself salad with her school lunch. she's glowing with health, says too much junk food makes her feel ''bleurgh!'' and has great body image.

i don't claim to have all the answers but i'm proud of not screwing her up over food.

I think you came at it from a different perspective. I'm sure you dont believe in being a restaurant and catering to everyone, but seems like you engaged the kids talked about nutrition, about the benefits of eating vegetables, and allowed them to experiment.

I dont have a big family just myself and my fiance and hopefully one on the way next January (crosses finger), and I'm pretty good about making meals that the super picky bf will eat and getting the vegetables that I love. If I was to have a child I know the rule would be you try it, if you dont like it fine, and what is served for dinner is served for dinner. If I knew everybody hated brussel sprouts I guess I'd do what tinak33's Mom did and never serve it again looking for another recipe.

aimforhealthy

I lie. *GASP* Yes I do. Are there onions in here? You see any? No? Well, that's because they're not there (visibly)... I used to blend everything. He's 13 now and will try more and more, but the structure of the food is his main issue (almost like Asperger's), so I keep blending the pasta sauce. Juicing works for fruits. Thank God he now likes celery and carrots...

i'm super anti fibbing to my kids. if i lie to them, how can i expect them to trust me? if i lie to them, how can i expect honesty from them? my mother used to tell lies like that and it just made me sceptical about everything she told me.

Yep.

zoeysasha37

My eight yr old has always been picky ..I try to make him smoothies ( I make sure he doesn't see what I'm putting in) you can add tons of veggies , fruits and the kids love them cuz they think its like a milk shake...you can get loads of recipes online for spinach smoothies , etc...(add in realy sweet fruits to cover up veggie taste , I use straw berries a lot and he doesn't know what's exactly in it)

Akimajuktuq

Yes. But I am the PARENT and she will eat when she gets hungry enough. Sure she gets a few indulgences here and there, but health comes first. Interestingly, children will eat things less sweet when they get used to less sweet! True story.

tinak33

I like that you make finding healthy foods fun. And I like that you don't force feed your daughter a vegetable over and over if she doesn't like it.
My mom made eggplant parmesan once when I was about 7 or 8. I hated it with a passion. She never made it again. I am the oldest of 7 kids. We don't have a small family and I was the only one who didn't like that meal. But when she cooks for everyone, she wants everyone to eat. She loves to try different recipes and she will. With different ingrdients and different vegetables and different combinations. She finds out the healthy family favorites over time and will make those more often. She never catered to one kid's taste.

Also since there were so many of us, a lot of the stricter rules she enforced on my brother and I (we were the oldest). As more kids came along, the rules were more relaxed. haha We always pick on her for that. :laugh:

thanks

this week, at 16, she's packing herself salad with her school lunch. she's glowing with health, says too much junk food makes her feel ''bleurgh!'' and has great body image.

i don't claim to have all the answers but i'm proud of not screwing her up over food.

I think you came at it from a different perspective. I'm sure you dont believe in being a restaurant and catering to everyone, but seems like you engaged the kids talked about nutrition, about the benefits of eating vegetables, and allowed them to experiment.

I dont have a big family just myself and my fiance and hopefully one on the way next January (crosses finger), and I'm pretty good about making meals that the super picky bf will eat and getting the vegetables that I love. If I was to have a child I know the rule would be you try it, if you dont like it fine, and what is served for dinner is served for dinner. If I knew everybody hated brussel sprouts I guess I'd do tinak33 Mom and never serve it again.

Funny thing. We LOVE brussel sprouts now.
We all (all 7 of us) hated them as kids. Only ate them once a year at Grandma's house during Thanksgiving just to be nice to Grandma.
Now we have actually ASKED mom to make them during family dinners/get togethers.

Some things change. And some things don't (I will never eat eggplant again). :flowerforyou:

glovepuppet

I like that you make finding healthy foods fun. And I like that you don't force feed your daughter a vegetable over and over if she doesn't like it.
My mom made eggplant parmesan once when I was about 7 or 8. I hated it with a passion. She never made it again. I am the oldest of 7 kids. We don't have a small family and I was the only one who didn't like that meal. But when she cooks for everyone, she wants everyone to eat. She loves to try different recipes and she will. With different ingrdients and different vegetables and different combinations. She finds out the healthy family favorites over time and will make those more often. She never catered to one kid's taste.

Also since there were so many of us, a lot of the stricter rules she enforced on my brother and I (we were the oldest). As more kids came along, the rules were more relaxed. haha We always pick on her for that. :laugh:

thanks

this week, at 16, she's packing herself salad with her school lunch. she's glowing with health, says too much junk food makes her feel ''bleurgh!'' and has great body image.

i don't claim to have all the answers but i'm proud of not screwing her up over food.

I think you came at it from a different perspective. I'm sure you dont believe in being a restaurant and catering to everyone, but seems like you engaged the kids talked about nutrition, about the benefits of eating vegetables, and allowed them to experiment.

I dont have a big family just myself and my fiance and hopefully one on the way next January (crosses finger), and I'm pretty good about making meals that the super picky bf will eat and getting the vegetables that I love. If I was to have a child I know the rule would be you try it, if you dont like it fine, and what is served for dinner is served for dinner. If I knew everybody hated brussel sprouts I guess I'd do what tinak33's Mom did and never serve it again looking for another recipe.

i still have things they hate on my plate. sometimes, years after first trying & hating food, they'll ask for as taste and realise they like it now. kids are naturally curious creatures, as a rule.

marisawildrick

Amen to that! I have to find sneaky ways to get my 4 year old AND my husband to eat veggies!

Flab2fitfi

My son has high functioning autism and as a child he had severe sensory issues that caused him to throw up if he ate certain textures and flavors. He went through a phase where he'd eat nothing but pizza for 4 solid months. Today he is 16 and will eat anything you put in front of him, including foods he used to have meltdowns about if he even saw them on the same table.

This gives me hope!

Ditto - my 13 year old is slowly trying more foods. Just got to work on the very picky 2 year old with suspected ASD. Though having her obsessions can help sometimes as she wont get what she wants unless she tries something.

elainecroft

My mom let us have 'moderate' amount of choices about what to eat. We didn't like lima beans, so we ate peas. I didn't like broccoli so she let me sprinkle some cheese on it. Stuff like that. But we had to try it, and we had to eat most of the stuff on our plate, and I think it really helped me develop broad tastes as an adult.

Disclaimer: I don't need to lose weight because I don't know how to eat healthy. I need to lose weight because I like eating too much.

ldrosophila

]i still have things they hate on my plate. sometimes, years after first trying & hating food, they'll ask for as taste and realise they like it now. kids are naturally curious creatures, as a rule.

Very much so, and if they see it on the table enough Mom enjoying it they will try it. The more variety and exposure you can give a kid the better there are so many ingredients and recipes out there you could never try it all in a life time.

MelsAuntie

I can never understand why this should be an issue. Tell the child she will eat what is cooked for the family, and if she doesn't want it, she doesn't eat. No separate meals. She has two choices; take it or leave it. She won't die of self starvation through refusing to eat. If she gets hungry she'll eat.

ldrosophila

I don't need to lose weight because I don't know how to eat healthy. I need to lose weight because I like eating too much.

my problem too I love almost all food

MellifluousGirl

It takes a child an average of 15 times before he/she will learn to like a food.So, I always tell my kids that their taste buds are evolving and they will grow to enjoy new foods. 1) This makes new food fondness sound like a "grown up" thing--and, with you setting such a positive example, this will only solidify the argument. 2) It's true. We are born with super sensitive taste buds that die off or grow accustomed to certain--repetitive--foods. My daughter loathed sweet potatoes, but I always had her take a "thank you taste." It took around 5 years, but now they are among her favorites. She will even REQUEST them now. Another thing you can do is get a juicer & juice fresh veggies, then sneak that juice into things your child does like. My friend's daughter only liked plain tomato sauce on her pasta-no veggies--but we could sneak the veggies in with this method. At least then you know your child is getting the nutrients needed for healthy growth. And you can get a lot more nutrients from fresh juice yourself. Good luck!

smanning1982

I have an extremely picky 13 yr old and 3 year old and then I have a 9 yr old and 5 yr old who pretty much eat anything. It's so frusterating!!!!

One thing I have done recently is got a very good blender (ninja) and some Visalus. (you don't have to do the visalus but it is packed full of vitamins and taste like cake batter super healthy) I make her a smoothie every morning, after breakfast but before school. 1 container of yogurt, 1/2 c milk, 2 scoop visalus, some fruit like strawberries and bananas and blueberries and my secret she don't know about spinach! I pack it full to the top with spinach and blend! She has NO idea there's about 2 full cups of spinach and she LOVES it. It is soooooo super healhty with fruits, veggies, milk and yogurt and visalus!

glovepuppet

I can never understand why this should be an issue. Tell the child she will eat what is cooked for the family, and if she doesn't want it, she doesn't eat. No separate meals. She has two choices; take it or leave it. She won't die of self starvation through refusing to eat. If she gets hungry she'll eat.

you have no idea how close to starvation under those rules.

had you read the thread, you'd know that there are kids who will.

sa11yjane

bump as I also have a child who pretty much only eats refined carbs and I am very worried for her future health

henriettevanittersum

I lie. *GASP* Yes I do. Are there onions in here? You see any? No? Well, that's because they're not there (visibly)... I used to blend everything. He's 13 now and will try more and more, but the structure of the food is his main issue (almost like Asperger's), so I keep blending the pasta sauce. Juicing works for fruits. Thank God he now likes celery and carrots...

i'm super anti fibbing to my kids. if i lie to them, how can i expect them to trust me? if i lie to them, how can i expect honesty from them? my mother used to tell lies like that and it just made me sceptical about everything she told me.

Santa Claus? Just sayin...

aimforhealthy

I personally am not a fan of "You can't do XYZ preferred activity until you eat such and such" as a tactic for getting a child to try anything. This sets up food as a means to a reward instead of fuel to be thoughtfully considered, ignores the child's taste preferences and requests, makes the kid feel pressured, and is not going to do much in the way of making them more adventurous in trying new foods.

When I want my (high functioning autistic 16yo) son to try something new, I try to relate it to something I already know he likes. "Lasagna is basically pasta, only flat instead of macaroni-shaped." Then I'll serve it with things I already know he does like - a small serving of lasagna with garlic bread, salad and a veggie he likes, and then eat it enthusiastically while talking about how delicious it is and how much I think he'll like it if he tries. I keep it very positive. It has sometimes taken YEARS of doing this to get him to try something. After a lifelong refusal to eat rice, for example, he ate some for the first time last week and declared it "good." But it took years.

Whenever I've lost my patience and turned food into a battle of wills - it's like someone else said. I have things to do, my son can afford to dig in his heels and wait me out, so I'm going to lose.

Keeping a long term perspective helps. Your child will not be 25 years old and subsisting exclusively off mac and cheese and hot dogs.

MelsAuntie

When I was young, Mom made one meal for everyone. You ate it or you sat at the dinner table all night long until it was time for bed. That didn't mean you didn't have to eat it. She saved it for you for the next night.

We spend a ridiculous amount of time catering to our kids today. My philosophy is, put it out there, they'll eat when they get hungry enough.

Don't even get me started on designer pet food.

YES! THIS EXACTLY!