Posted on 10/11/2007 3:59:30 PM PDT by 68skylark
A WEEK’S worth of dinners for young Fiona Jacobson looks like this: Noodles. Noodles. Noodles. Noodles. French fries. Noodles. On the seventh day, the 5-year-old from Forest Hills, Queens, might indulge in a piece of pizza crust, with no sauce or cheese.
Over in New Jersey, the Bakers changed their November family vacation to accommodate Sasha, an 11-year-old so averse to fruits and vegetables that the smell of orange juice once made him faint. Instead of flying to Prague, Sasha’s parents decided to go to Barcelona, where they hope the food will be more to his liking.
And at the Useloff household, young Ethan’s tastes are so narrow that their home in Westfield, N.J., works something like a diner.
“I do the terrible mommy thing and make everyone separate dinners,” Jennifer Useloff said.
All three families share a common problem. Their children are not only picky eaters, prone to reject foods they once seemed to love, but they are also neophobic, which means they fear new food.
But for parents who worry that their children will never eat anything but chocolate milk, Gummi vitamins and the occasional grape, a new study offers some relief. Researchers examined the eating habits of 5,390 pairs of twins between 8 and 11 years old and found children’s aversions to trying new foods are mostly inherited.
The message to parents: It’s not your cooking, it’s your genes.
The study, led by Dr. Lucy Cooke of the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London, was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in August. Dr. Cooke and others in the field believe it is the first to use a standard scale to investigate the contribution of genetics and environment to childhood neophobia.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
When my first child was born, as soon as he could sit up to the table, I would fix him eggs florentine, or an equivalent. By the time his younger brother was born, I would throw a raw piece of steak across the room and tell the kid, "Beat the dog to it, and you get lunch!"
Am I mother of the year, or what?
there’s a big difference between learning to live below your means and eating roaches. I don’t think most people are able to live and enjoy life with a bit less and that is probably why so many are in major debt.
I hear that a lot about schnapps, too. But if I were going to drink, that would be my poison.
Re#45 Good morning and good point. I have not researched it but I recall that a lot of the disorders girls have are based on physical appearance/esteem issues. That said, there may be a genetic/hormonic component too...
My 5 year old is much like your 7 year old. He eats things I run from like icky sea food and beets. I am thankful he’s such a good eater but sometimes I’m kind of grossed out by it too. ;) I’m not into fixing several different meals either. You get what you get unless you can make it yourself.
I like your father!!!
:)
Put the veggies in a bowl, keep them warm of course, and tell her they’re Green Treats and she may NOT HAVE EVEN A TASTE until she’s eaten her other food.
LOL. I happen to like the same ‘icky’ stuff as my son. It is another bonding thing—especially when his sister and mom decline our offers to share...
I’m somewhat guilty of that—my daughter was a great eater as a baby but for several years her diet seemed pretty much limited to chicken nuggets, mac and cheese and goldfish crackers. I’m exaggerating of course but sadly not much!
But she grew and thrived and didn’t drink soda or eat candy or many sweets, so I wasn’t too worried about it. Now one of her favorite foods is artichokes!
My son kind of went through that too but now he’s very adventurous in his eating. All we ask is that they take a bite!
I don’t want to turn my home into a diner, but my husband and I like to eat fish and other things I’m not going to force anyone to eat. So I sometimes make different meals for the kids.
I think people develop food issues if likes/dislikes are overemphasized. I’d rather keep introducing new foods, encouraging them to try it and relax.
In my experience they outgrow pickiness and look at food as fuel and not have other issues if the parents just relax a bit. It helps that both my kids are pretty decent athletes so I really emphasize the “healthy choices” thing and praise them when they try or eat healthy foods.
I knew it was likely a man thing! My son and his daddy delight in ofering to share the ‘ick’ with me even though they have been turned down MANY times in the past. Seaweed is not a vegetable!
It sounds like you have a nice family there. You are blessed and so you should not really tease the ladies with icky food.. shame on you. ;)
Well if your family experiences were good, I'm glad for you. Mine were happy as well. But others report excessively authoritarian or abusive experiences. (Just look at this thread for examples.) So I'm not sure things were always that much better in the past.
Ahh, milady, you have done well. :)
Thank you! I agree! And texture too.
I have one son that gradually became pickier and pickier as he got older...would eat anything as a baby but the older he got, the less things he would eat, much to my dismay. He would even try to eat the stuff, because he knew it worried me but would end up barfing up everything else he ate. He actually WANTS to eat watermelon so bad and just can’t.
My younger son eats anything. Rutabaga, squash, spinach, beets, you name it.
I seriously believe if I tried to force my older son to eat the things that make him vomit, he would die before he would. Or grow up with some kind of eating disorder.
He is growing on basically meats and carbs. I just give him a multivitamin and don’t worry about it.
..her 3 yr old eats only chicken fingers, pizza, oatmeal, mandarin oranges and french fries....and ice cream....and donuts.
She already says when trying something new...'I don't like this'....or 'this doesn't taste good'....
I’m not big on cooked vegetables (they get kinda mushy),
Have you tried steamed vegetables? They stay crisp but they’re more flavorful than raw.
Thank you. My boys grudgingly admit it with speech, but it is their deeds that speak even louder. They make me proud every day.
I dunno, if your kid is picky eating, hunger is a great motivator
Is she malnourished and/or seriously under size or weight? If she is not then I suspect your worring is misplaced - particularly if the youngster is living with her parents rather than you. It is their job to worry about such things. Your job is to enjoy your grandkids completely and to conspire with them to ensure the mothers’ curse is properly fulfilled (I hope you grow up and have kids that are just like you!).
I cannot imagine my parents altering a vacation for my delicate taste buds or my mother cooking a different supper for me. Are these people in the real world?
Our oldest had bed wetting problem for a little while, but we viewed it as a minor annoyance, and outside of his control anyway. A sheet of plastic and more frequent washing machine usage took care of what pull-ups didn't - it was no big deal. Going ballistic over it would have been the damaging thing.
If a kid is healthy the battles over eating can be more problematic than the the restrictive eating. Vitamins come in enough forms so that a kid can get a good part of their nutrition needs met. Beyond that, if their weight is good I wouldn't get too worked up over it - just try to steer them to the healthiest alternatives possible and enjoy your own food.
As for me, I would try to steer the little bugger away from Chilis and towards the 99. Chilis food is alright, but no great shakes to me. I tried the 99 for the first time this weekend. Everything they served was spot on. Putting up with a picky eater is easier, IMO, when the sirloin tips are excellent. And a Chevas on rocks before hand makes the whine easier to swallow too.
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