Are adventurous eaters born or made?
Categories: Newborns, Babies, Toddlers, Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Eating & nutrition, Mealtime
Lesley Porcelli over at Gourmet isn't a mom yet, but she's well on her way and pondering what kind of eater her kid will be. Like a lot of non-parents, she readily admits that she has strong opinions about successful parenting, particularly when it comes to feeding the child. And when it comes to picky eaters, Porcelli is pretty sure that parents are to blame.Her theory goes something like this: If the whole family sits down to eat together and nobody makes a big deal out of what is on the plate, the kid will happily chow down without complaint. If a parent assumes the kid wouldn't touch a lasagna with a ten foot pole and therefore doesn't bother to offer it, chances are good that the kid will subsist on nuggets and fries until maturity.
I think Porcelli has it only partly right. Kids aren't blank slates waiting to be molded into actual people. Even as they try their first bites of solid food, they are individuals with their own likes and dislikes. From her first bite of pureed chicken as a baby, my Ellie disliked meat. She gobbled up the fruits and veggies, but spat out anything that tasted of animal. I don't know if her aversion was about texture or taste, but to this day she would sooner eat a plate of green beans than a bite of chicken. For Ellie, it isn't about not wanting to try new foods (she loves crab cakes and calamari), she just doesn't like meat.
That said, I do think parents can - and should - influence what foods their child will consume. The old "just take one bite" routine works well for us and is the reason we can all enjoy a plate of calamari together. But in the end, I don't worry too much about my picky eater. After all, I lived off bologna and mustard sandwiches as a kid and I survived just fine.
Recent Posts
- Girl with Down syndrome voted Homecoming Queen (10/15/2008)
- Trista and Ryan Sutter expecting baby number two (10/15/2008)
- Image of the Day - Filtered (10/15/2008)
- Pacifiers - Saying goodbye is never easy (10/15/2008)
- Making babies makes you smarter (10/15/2008)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jen 6-30-2008 @ 6:54PM
I beg to differ. My son (1st born) has always been an adventurous eater - trying anything I put in front of him. Hs sister born 2 years later would not eat anything that was spoon-fed to her, and when she could finally pick food up for herself, limited her diet to bread and cereals. Seven years later she is still on the "carbovour" diet; no fruits or vegetables and very little proteins. I know I did it "right" with my first, but my daughter has very definite food fetishes. I have tried to resist the "hunger strikes" - holding out as long as 3 full days without giving her what she wants!! kI have decided that in the end, as long as she is growing (and she is) I refuse to feel guilty or make meal times a battle zone.
Reply
mamaloo 6-30-2008 @ 7:02PM
I touched on these issues in my article: Helping Kids Change Their Eating Habits http://vegetarianmoms.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/helping-kids-change-their-eating-habits/
I firmly believe that eaters are nurtured, not natured. My son grew up with Indian, Middle Eastern and Mexican foods as his staples, he has only ever eaten white bread at other people's homes and he has been nurtured into expanding his palate when my family recently made diet changes.
That's not to say that he hasn't had weird fluctuations in how he ate all that food, and usually he eats like a bird, but his palate is trained, as are, IMO, all the other palates in the world.
My nieces eats fresh cut broccoli and cucumber like it's going out of style, which is no surprise as her mother eats loads of them herself.
I think a good food habit foundation is important for families getting ready to introduce solids. Wait until babies demonstrate they are ready for solids and willing to eat them and then mash up your normal table foods. Don't bother with over-processed de-nutriented foods like baby cereals and jarred foods which set a kid up for a life of wonder bread and spaghetti-o's. Let little ones experiment with some food and utensils while you make sure they are eating a few spoonfuls.
And never make a big deal about foods or eating. If they don't want to eat, the natural consequence is that they miss a meal. They won't starve themselves and they'll soon realise that meal time is not where they can win power struggles.
Reply
Jenn 6-30-2008 @ 11:50PM
My daughter (who is now 2) was a terrific eater up until about 6 months ago, and I can only hope this is a phase she will grow out of.
She is given the same things that we eat every night, and we expect only that she try everything on her plate. If she doesn't want to eat it, that's fine, but she doesn't get anything else.
Reply
bremarie03 7-01-2008 @ 1:26AM
I think that's BS. How do they explain why children in the same families have wildly different habits and preferences? My oldest is very picky, and rarely eats meat. And has the been the same her whole life. We would feed her vegetables mixed with cubed meat, and she would chew and swallow the veg and spit out the meat. A natural born vegetarian if ever there was one.
Then my son (the middle child) will eat nearly anything we give him, and he LOVES meat.
Time will tell with the baby, but so far we haven't found anything she won't eat.
Reply
Sherry 7-01-2008 @ 2:12AM
I think it is BS too. We have family meals with a wide assortment of dishes, very little junk food, and no one makes an issue out of what anyone else eats or doesn't eat. I have one that won't eat anything, and one that eats almost everything.
It is always so nice to read someone who thinks they all have it figured out and if we all just did what they say life with kids would be paradise. I think they are born they way they are born.
Reply
Kelly 7-05-2008 @ 4:42PM
May all the know-it-alls give birth to the pickiest kids alive.
jesser 7-01-2008 @ 2:52PM
I think this is a very interesting topic and after 16 months of being a mom, I don't think I have any answers. But I have noticed some correlations ... I would probably lean towards saying that it's both. My sister and I grew up in a household where we ate everything under the sun. Both of us are very adventurous eaters overall, though like anyone we have our preferences. We both went through phases where we swore off this or that, claiming to hate it. But it usually passed. My husband on the other hand was raised in a very meat and potatoes household ... lots of fast food and very little variety in the diet. Certainly no "ethnic" food (unless spaghetti counts) and he and his siblings were all hugely picky eaters (as is their mother) ... but as they've grown up, they've finally started trying things and to their surprise, they like them. My husband has done a total 180 and will try anything under the sun. But I definitely know of people who were raised in households where wide variety was the norm and they subsist on PBJs and chicken fingers.
My philosophy so far has to been to give my daughter what we make for ourselves. She eats what she eats (she seems to like pretty much everything) and I don't worry about it too much ... as long as she's growing. But who knows what the future holds...
Reply