True Picky Eaters

My two daughters were completely different. My eldest was weaned on the usual first foods of baby rice/ egg etc. After that she had mainly the commercial baby foods-milupa I think. She grew into a fussy eater in that she never liked any form of meat apart from sliced ham. She would eat a variety of other foods.
With my youngest everything was home made and frozen in little ice cubes for the days I was working.
As time went on I discovered Quorn and lentils and all was well.
My eldest daughter has remained a vegetarian, she just doesnt like the taste/ texture of meat.
My youngest loves a wide variety of foods including all sorts of vegetables including sprouts and broccoli. She will happily eat a whole bowl of sprouts as a treat!
I do sometimes wonder if the blandness of prepared baby foods influenced my eldest daughters taste buds. On the whole I think we all just have things we dont like. As adults it's acceptable.
I do believe there are other reasons for childeren avoiding foods as mentioned above.
It seems a balance between not turning meals into a massive issue and not ending up cooking four different meals either!

I don't have autism but I didn't like things touching when I was little, didn't like gravy on the meat and potato pie crust for example. My parents tolerated it, after all they had dislikes too and understood.
There is always a reason for fussiness or whatever you call it, it may have the advantage of making it easier for the family in that they don't need to think about what to cook you.
Don't agree with forcing a child to eat what she can't swallow. I remember taking revolting fish and suchlike home from school dinners otherwise I'd have to sit and eat it, although the dinner ladies were kinder than the teachers and let. Me leave the mashed potato. It was not nice, and nowadays I love mashed potato, it was just horrible
Children have always suffered from allergies etc, birds custard powder was developed as Mrs Bird was allergic to eggs,
A friend way back fostered a baby and was told by the doc to give him scrambled egg, as he had suffered neglect. She tried and made him eat it, with the result that he refused to eat with her at all, but would eat at nursery where he felt safe from being forced
My mum came from a large extended poor family and she said she would not go to children's parties because there was always jelly and you had to eat some, but she just couldn't.
Can I recommend a book called my child won't eat, by paediatrician Carlos Gonzales, if any of you are worried it is a tremendously reassuring read. He tells the story of his father who was forced to eat vegetables because they were good for him. As a result once he had a choice he never ate another vegetable

Aldom

As a child /young person my nephew would only eat peanut butter on Ryvita. He ate the same thing for each meal of the day. His parents and the wider family accepted his preference. Now in his early fifties he is a delightful, fit, healthy and successful man. He is also a vegetarian /vegan. Being 'picky' clearly did him no harm.

I could have written this exact post if you exchange toast for Ryvita.

I felt compelled to comment on this one, there is an eating disorder- ARFID -,often mistaken for picky eating, which if not understood can create great anxiety for the child with the disorder. It is treatable but the earlier the better to avoid the effects of poor nutrition such as osteoporosis. If misunderstood and a child is told off about not eating, can make the situation worse. The GP is the starting point and say that your concern is about nutrition and diet. Say you’ve heard of ARFID and you’d like an assessment for it. It’s better to be safe than sorry! Treatment is both psychological and nutritional.
Im sending a link for information.
www.bda.uk.com/resource/arfid-help-my-child-wont-eat.html

My grandson was given everything to try as a baby and devoured it all, however at about 10 months he had a severe tummy upset and it seemed that he could no longer trust food. Almost everything was rejected and he spent the next couple of years eating rice cakes! Eventually he was persuaded to try other things and often it would result in wrenching and vomiting. He was diagnosed as having sensory issues. He didn’t like the texture of lots of foods. He’s now 13 and his diet is still restricted,,,,but so much better. He loves most things that teenagers like…pizza, hot dogs and especially sun-dried tomatoes! Although we accept that it’s not a healthy diet, it’s an absolute joy to see him enjoy food, and I’m sure that he’ll continue to be more adventurous! Sometimes there’s more to it than just being picky!

This is exactly what my grandson suffered from….

I must correct the comment that ARFID has little treatment- this isn’t correct and the treatment is gentle. A two pronged approach involving addressing food issues by a psychologist, obviously age appropriate to the child and a dietitian/nutritionist ensures a child’s nutritional needs are met through foods and supplements. Don’t be afraid to seek help. It is completely treatable.
Do your own research, find your own specialist. Just google ARFID treatment/ Specialist.

ARFID
What does treatment and recovery involve?

Management strategies for ARFID continue to evolve but include nutritional, psychological, sensory-motor and medical assessment, followed by plans focusing on:

dietary – ensuring that nutritional needs are met to optimise growth and development
psychological – management of parental/child anxiety and coping with mealtimes
sensory-motor strategies – relating to the child’s environment, de-sensitisation strategies and the development of oro-motor skills.6