One of the many things that annoyed me about that article was that it wrongly assumes that if you order off the children’s menu at a restaurant you’re also mindlessly serving the children’s menu at home. How about offer some butter and pasta so my daughter, her parents, and your other customers can enjoy their meals? No, okay then have a frustrated, cranky baby, parents who will hardly finish their glasses of wine (let alone prolong the experience with dessert), and sashimi all over your floor. We can struggle and coax at home but if we’re treating ourselves by going to a restaurant how about making it a little bit easier? Or at the very least not judging us if we skip the fried rabbit for our kids.
.-= frugan amy´s last blog ..We went to England and went on swings. Or, travelling with a 16-month-old. =-.

However, you have to admit that his case, or the case of the child starving itself in an attempt to avoid food allergy for that matter, is very, very rare! Much rarer than the number of ‘picky eaters’ and their frustrated mums cooking two hot meals a day, every day. Much rarer also than the number of children with diet-related illness.

So I would still say, give it a try, try the ‘nazi-regime’ (I’ve chosen a very, very bad term for this, because it’s not at all cruel, just common sense). It won’t kill your child, nor will it do unrepairable damage to you relationship, and it’ll hopefully bring you closer to a solution of, or at least an explanation for, the picky eating. It’s much easier, cheaper and less traumatic for the child (and its parents) than being ‘thoroughly checked out’, with samples of blood, stool and urine, skin tests, sweat tests, ultrasounds, X-rays, scans, gastroscopy, colonoscopy and psychological tests of child and parents… (I’ve been in and out of hospital with my youngest until she was 18 months, so I know what I’m talking about, not as a doctor, but as a mum. She’s a happy, healthy two year old now, luckily.)

So try it, and if after 2 weeks your child starts losing weight, THEN go and get you child checked out to find out the underlying cause, be it physical or psychological.

Alternatively, do nothing. Cook two meals a day if that’s fine for you. Smuggle the necessary vitamins and fibers into cookies and shakes. As long as your child is healthy and happy and you are sane, who cares what he eats and how you organize your meals?

I think Saartje has some valid points about the truth behind picky eaters. I don’t think its necessarily a myth that children can be very picky eaters, but parents are often huge enablers of it, which just makes it way worse.

It always blows my mind when I see my friends making one meal for the grown ups and another one for the kids on a regular basis. My mom never did that with me. She made dinner and if I didn’t like it, too bad.

She was never evil and made multiple things she knew I didn’t like, but I was given the same food everyone else got, like it or not. Sure, its about picking your battles, but it was never a battle at our house. This is supper tonight; if you’re hungry, eat it. If not, oh well.

Of course kids will start throwing temper tantrums if you stop catering to things they love, if its what they’re used to, which is why its a bad habit to get into in the first place.
.-= The Grown Up Teenager´s last blog ..It’s That Time Of The Year =-.

I mean, is it really that much of a stretch to think (and respect the fact) that children *do* have their own unique tastes and preferences?!

On the other hand, I should also acknowledge that parents *sometimes* set their kids up for their eventual pickiness. (And I’m not suggesting at all that anyone in particular here has done so.) But if a child is mainly *given* white bread, mac and cheese, and chicken nuggets, then s/he will probably develop strong preferences for those things!
.-= Kristen´s last blog ..Words for Thought: What Does it Mean to Value Family Values? =-.