Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What do you do about extreme food pickiness?

My DD9 is the same. It's exasperating. At least she likes her multivitamin. (sigh).

My DS7 is a little less picky - AND he'll drink breakfast shakes. Bingo!!

You can add all kinds of stuff to shakes (and they're delicious Fruit, protein powder, flax oil, liquid vitamins, almond milk, etc etc... problem solved. Now if only I could get my daughter to drink them too(she says they make her feel too full).

I just started a new thing today. If ds5 doesn't like what I have served, he is welcome to go and make a "sandwich" (his version which rarely includes bread or condiments) and serve himself.

This is a reaction to a number of issues the little sweetie has. He is a picky eater, he has low muscle tone and will lay around all day if we let him, he has low motivation and wants me to do everything for him, he is a perfectionist and is afraid to try.

If the child had his way I would be following him around all day doing his bidding.

I make lovely meals and always include something that he would like, even if he won't believe me that he won't find the taste/texture offensive, it's there!

Interestingly, there are actually variable genetic components to this. Some of us "taste" the bitter compounds in veggies more (and it varies--there is more than one such compound). If your child seems to blanch at veggies, there is research to suggest that kids who are genetically sensitive to these compounds will accept bitter veggies more easily if they are served with masking dips high in salt. Really! Actual research. I just read it for work and am passing this interesting tidbit along. BTW, kids who are NOT sensitive to these compounds do NOT eat more veggies if they are served with dip!

Also, these tendencies are reduced with repeated exposure--in other words, we can overcome them. Other interesting findings: kids will eat more veggies if they are served with water and if the size of the main course serving is smaller.

if its dinner time, I send mine to bed w/o dinner if they are picky about it. When a child is hungry enough. they will eat anything.

If it's breakfast or lunch, I tell them that it will be their dinner

A few other people here have mentioned that this isn't the case. Personally, I would rather go hungry than eat something that will make me sick or make me feel bad. Not everyone has the same digestive system.

My DH's father tried this route when DH was a child. DH forced down the entire bowl of rewarmed oatmeal for lunch, then threw it up all over the table.

You are fortunate that your children don't have serious food aversions.

I see food pickiness as a play for control similar to tantrums, nothing more

... not always, though. I agree that food pickiness that has no rhyme or reason to it, and seems to wax/wane with a desire for attention is probably in that category. However--

I'd be a very wealthy woman if I had a dollar for every person I've met who thought that their child was just being "stubborn" regarding food preferences...

only to find out that the child had true IgE-mediated allergies confirmed by a board-certified physician, and occasionally for which epinephrine was prescribed.

In some cases, these children were actually saving their own lives by refusing to eat particular foods.

The most common offenders in this context, by the way, are:

nuts, fish/seafood, mustard/seeds, eggs, and milk.

Very seldom are children truly allergic to fruits or vegetables, or to food additives. My suggestion to parents of very picky eaters is to ask the child to describe the BASIS for the aversion. Descriptions of metallic tastes, itching, or extreme 'bad' smell are red flags. I have a shellfish allergy; believe me when I say that shrimp cocktail smells to me like the local landfill in August. I realize that it doesn't smell that way to others-- but my body seems to know that shrimp is the smell of death for me.

Intolerances are another matter; and gluten-based foods, preservatives/dyes, sulfites, and dairy products top that particular list.

Seriously, though; if your family has evidence of atopic conditions (asthma, allergies, or eczema), and especially if you've seen any of those things in the child in question, it might do to make note of particular food aversions.

We never make food a power struggle. Ever. My husband and I both were forced to eat food allergens as children. Our parents felt incredibly guilty about that.

I will respectfully disagree, and I am talking about food that they are not allergic [ thankfully they do not have any ].. medical conditions are different than pickiness which is what is being discussed.

You are comparing apples and oranges.

I've always been a picky eater, and I can attest that I have never, ever used food as a means for a power struggle or to control someone (not as a parent, not as a child). In my experience, the power struggle is far more likely to rest with the parent.

If I didn't or don't want to eat something, it's because I simply don't want to --- either because it might make me sick or feel unwell or because I just don't like it. I'm not allergic to much of anything --- I have intolerances, and they're completely different from allergies. Other people here have said the same.