Wow - I'm really groking this thread! My kids are so much - all of this- I thought just my family was weird LOL!
DD11 - other than the nursing was a picky eater from the get go - hated all the baby cereals, baby food, pretty much everything. And we have tried everything - nothing works. Even brought in an OT and nutritionist who claimed to specialize in feeding issues. Well, all that money to confirm that she has sensory issues and a preference for "crunchable-meltable" textures. Good to know, but they were not able to offer a lot of useful suggestions.
The only things I've noticed so far that are helpful - trying different restaurants, especially buffet-style. For some reason she seems more relaxed and open to trying things when we eat out - and the buffet lets her try little bits of things to see if she likes it. I've been surprised at the different foods she'll order/try at a new restaurant.
Cooking with her - sometimes works, sometimes not. Often she'll have fun making the food, then try it, tell me it's 'good' and then not touch it again.
Gardening - worked OK when she was little, now she's afraid of bugs. (We have anxiety issues)
Sometimes we visit a farmer's market and I let the kids pick out fruits/veggies to try.
Once we participated in a mother-daughter group cooking class - I was astonished that she participated in and tried everything, including beating the eggs for a caesar salad dressing, which she then proceeded to eat!
For some reason, the things that work are expensive!
DS8 also has sensory issues, but kind of in the opposite way to DD - he's hypo-sensitive in a lot of ways, but does have a good appetite, so food isn't really an issue there.
Both kids have a resistance to parental suggestions. I discovered early on that _I_ could not teach them things - if I want them to learn something we have to contract that out (art, music, swimming lessons). If I have a suggestion for how something could be done better, I pass it on to their teachers and ask them to discuss with the child.
It's frustrating, especially when there are books or movies I'd like to share with them that I think they'll enjoy. Almost all my suggestions are rejected. My kids refused to watch any Star Wars movies for years (DS because it has the word 'War' in it). However with the new movie coming out, DS finally agreed to see the (original) first movie - DD came in while we were watching and stayed to watch - now they've seen them all, including the cartoon versions on Netflix.
Anyway, stay patient - I'm sure it gets better eventually- I'm still waiting...
