I don't buy that food preferences are always parentally driven. Many kids with ASD, which has a huge genetic component, fit a flavor profile that is either bland white (milk, bread, pasta, sweet) or piquant (salty, sour, spicy). Often texture plays a huge role in food choice among those on spectrum because of sensory processing differences.
tryingtobehappy DS had a classmate on spectrum who was Indian. DS used to always bitch about the odor of this kid's lunch which sort of surprised me because he liked going out for Indian food. Turns out this kid would only eat spicy Tex-Mex food and had a serious cilantro addiction.
At 7, DD still claims anything she doesn't like is "too spicy." It is HARD to drive home the differences between bitter, sour, spicy, acidic, etc. unless the person is willing to sit there and really experience the flavors as opposed to just spitting it out and saying, "it's spicy!"
I can't figure out what she finds offensive about cucumbers, though. They don't have any kind of strong flavor to me.
My DS used to gag on baby food. Baby food! I exposed him to all kinds of foods. Believe me. He was literally picky from day one. I trust more that article from awhile ago linking picky eating to anxiety. That study was spot on. Seeing how my DD will eat anything, yeah, I know that I wasn't the one to cause DS's pickiness.
I must have missed that article? Think you can find it? My picky eater is also a very anxious, look before you leap type.
Post by penguingrrl on Dec 14, 2015 8:30:47 GMT -5
I call bullshit. My oldest ate everything until she was about 3.5. She loved spicy food, her favorite restaurant was an Indian restaurant near us in the city. Then she stopped eating most things, but always loved all fruits and veggies. Now she wants plain raw veggies, certain fruits and nothing in a sauce.
My younger two were introduced to food the same way, we offered everything and they had much more limited palates from the start.
I never used baby food with any of them and offered tons of different fruits and veggies. Their issue in general has to do with texture and DH has the exact same issue.
Huh. Well my kid happily ate most veggies and other healthy things from when we started solids at 5.5 months until about a year....now she won't touch them. She will definitely go without eating before she eats something she doesn't want to.
I feel like this article does nothing to address the whole power struggle / stubbornness component of getting kids to eat. Half the time she won't even eat foods she "likes" and I'm pretty sure it's because she likes the word NO more.
Huh. Well my kid happily ate most veggies and other healthy things from when we started solids at 5.5 months until about a year....now she won't touch them. She will definitely go without eating before she eats something she doesn't want to.
I feel like this article does nothing to address the whole power struggle / stubbornness component of getting kids to eat. Half the time she won't even eat foods she "likes" and I'm pretty sure it's because she likes the word NO more.
Post by rondonalddo on Dec 14, 2015 10:09:53 GMT -5
I'm a picky eater (I mean, I'm way, way, way better than I used to be!) and I really don't know how non-picky people do it. Like, it would be a challenge for me to make myself eat something just to be polite, but I hear that's a thing that people do. I'm trying to imagine, now, eating relish or the fat on a steak, and I just don't think I could do it. I probably have some sensory issues and anxiety playing into it, so chances are, my kid does, too.
Meticulously researched you say ... Clearly this is a book plug that's likely stemming from the book author's press junket. I would love to see the actual sources used, but I'm likely not purchasing the book, or picking it up from the library.
There's probably some truth to the article, in certain controlled cases, but not universal truth.
This was my first thought as well. As a general rule I hate books that make me feel like I'm failing as a parent because my kid didn't respond to whatever the book said that all kids would respond to (see also, Weisbluth, Dr Sears, etc)
I'm a picky eater (I mean, I'm way, way, way better than I used to be!) and I really don't know how non-picky people do it. Like, it would be a challenge for me to make myself eat something just to be polite, but I hear that's a thing that people do. I'm trying to imagine, now, eating relish or the fat on a steak, and I just don't think I could do it. I probably have some sensory issues and anxiety playing into it, so chances are, my kid does, too.
I'm trying to think of a time you would MAKE yourself eat relish and steak fat, lol. Why would you do this?
Heh. I was trying to this of examples of things that other people eat that are dealbreakers for me. More commonly, I suppose, would be making myself not pick onions or tomatoes out of food and just eat them instead. Or eating a burger that has been contaminated with pickles, which has definitely happened when the place has gotten my order wrong. Anyway, things that are abhorrent to me-- I totally get my kid not wanting to take even a tiny bite of something.
I'm a picky eater (I mean, I'm way, way, way better than I used to be!) and I really don't know how non-picky people do it. Like, it would be a challenge for me to make myself eat something just to be polite, but I hear that's a thing that people do. I'm trying to imagine, now, eating relish or the fat on a steak, and I just don't think I could do it. I probably have some sensory issues and anxiety playing into it, so chances are, my kid does, too.
I am not sure the fat on a steak is the best example. I used to be pretty picky as a kid. My tastes have expanded and I am much better at eating things I don't like. I would still cut the fat off a steak.
I do think be able to eat some things you don't like is a good skill to have.
My DS used to gag on baby food. Baby food! I exposed him to all kinds of foods. Believe me. He was literally picky from day one. I trust more that article from awhile ago linking picky eating to anxiety. That study was spot on. Seeing how my DD will eat anything, yeah, I know that I wasn't the one to cause DS's pickiness.
I'm pretty sure I agreed with you the last time this topic came up. We did blw with DD before it was the cool thing do because she would not eat baby food. I had to completely abandon it and just put food on her tray that she could choose to pick up and eat (or not) herself.