My daughter eats everything. And I do mean everything. She’s eaten olives, chili, limburger cheese, pretzels, kiwi fruit, pomegranate juice, naan, strawberry yoghurt, feta cheese, samosas, tofu, walnuts, butter chicken, dark chocolate, spinach, onion soup and nearly everything else we’ve set in front of her.
The only thing she didn’t like was lemon curd although I’ve seen her scarf down raw lemons. I once spilled dry cat food on the floor. When I turned my back she ate that, too.
Tonight my husband had hot and spicy Shanghai noodles for dinner. They were hot enough that he likes hot food and yet he still remarked on how hot they were. She ate them. Gleefully.
My husband thinks this is peculiar. I say it’s normal.
Tell me doper parents, which one of us is right? Is she a strange food nerd destined to be a restaurant critic when she grows up or just merely representative of her age group?
My son is like this. I think if you’re the type of people who eat a large variety of stuff and allow your kid to (as opposed to you eating the Shanghai noodles and fixing your daughter mac & cheese for dinner), your daughter will naturally go along with the program. My son is just over two and has developed a liking for lamb curry.
It’s normal. My daughter was happy to eat anything when very young, so long as it was what I ate. The problems came when she started school. Since the other kids lunches consisted of crisps and chocolate, she got teased, so for several years her diet was very resitricted and unadventurous.
Well…she might be. According to Jared Diamond. He made a very interesting (and kind of obvious once you think about it) point that while babies will put anything in their mouths, at a certain stage kids become “picky eaters”. And don’t want what they haven’t had before. This coinciding with when they get old enough to go and pick up food themselves. That is, toddlers who didn’t develop the picky eater tendency were the ones who went out and ate a poisonous caterpillar and eliminated themselves from the gene pool.
Err…which I suppose is not terribly helpful or reassuring…but maybe your child is the next evolutionary step. Just keep her away from caterpillers.
My son will eat just about anything. He doesn’t like fish/seafood of any kind. That’s really the only thing I can think of that he absolutely will not eat. He eats all the time, too, but I’m still constantly reminded that he’s “too skinny”, like I’m doing something wrong. That’s another thread though, I’m sure.
I don’t think he’s ever tried cat food. He likes dog food, though.
My daughter will eat about anything. She likes vindaloo, but will drink lots of water and eat nan to kill the fire. Then she will eat more! She likes all manner of vegetables and fruits, and even durian ice cream and garlic fudge.
Little Case {3 1/2} has the tastebuds of a 30 year old guy: olives, pickles, capers, mustard, pickled onions, blue vein cheese…he’ll gobble them all with relish {and tomato sauce}. I agree with C3 that it may be an upbringing thing: Missus Case is Japanese, the cuisine at Casa Sensitive is pretty eclectic, and he’s just used to eating what we eat.
This is a bit of a generalisation, but a lot of the kids his age I’ve seen who are picky eaters get given kiddy diets {chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, celery sticks}, and just don’t get used to the hard stuff - not that their nutrition is bad, just not that varied, so anything new is viewed with suspicion.
We’re too lazy to cook him a separate kid’s dinner, so he eats what we eat, and doesn’t know any different. Much easier that way.
It’s good that your kid will eat a variety of foods. My daughter (age 11) has always had “weird” eating habits. Her favorite food is tomatoes—As a matter of fact, I can’t keep them in the house, because she will eat them immediately. She insists on eating tuna salad everyday for lunch (refuses to eat the school lunch–thank God!). She loves pesto sauce. She will also eat salmon. Unlike a lot of kids, she loves Chinese food, including pot stickers.
Our kids are pretty good eaters, but they are at that point where they will refuse certain things. They’re two, though, so this is an assertion of independence more than anything else.
My son ate everything. In large quantities. Still does. And he’s thin as a rail. Some folks are just like that. Count yourself as lucky. I’ve always felt sorry for parents that have to fight over every mouthful of food.
Yeah, the Bean Sprout is another 3.5 year old who eats just about anything. One time, when he was 2, we were at a Japanese restaurant. The owner was so surprised to see a caucasian toddler gobbling down miso soup and tofu that he started bringing out all sorts of little delicacies and goodies for us. That was fun. The Sprout also likes wasabi, but we make sure he only has a little bit at a time.
I absolutely agree that it’s an upbringing thing. Also, they do cooking at his preschool, and he helps us cook at home. He’s always eager to eat what he helped prepare.
Don’t y’all pat your own backs too hard. When my son was little he was exposed to a wide variety of foods. I was especially pleased to see him scarfing down the salsa at the Mexican joints we used to haunt. I, too, thought it was something I was doing right. Then suddenly he changed his mind about everything. He’s seven now and has only recently begun eating beef again. Anything with a red sauce, like traditional kid favs pizza and spaghetti, won’t be touched. He is still offered a variety. I don’t take any credit for it when he like a strong flavor like Caerphilly cheese nor do I take blame when he doesn’t like garlic chicken.
I think it’s great that your kid will try different things. Even better if they LIKE them! I believe our kids don’t get enough of a variety. They just eat foods that are easy for mom to make (or heat up from a box). Let the kids try everything that they want to try. I think it keeps them from getting bored and overeating junkfood as they grow up.
I’m not meaning to give out a “We’re better parents than they are” vibe: sure, Little Case may decide next week that he’s only eating baked beans and sausages, but he’s happy for now. Once more laziness triumphs!
I think older kids are more sensitive to peer pressure, too: if no-one else has onigiri in their lunchbox, there’s a strong element of “Eww! You’re different!”, which is a huge decider. Not saying this is the case with your kid, Homebrew: just a general observation from having taught young 'uns.
Toddlers aren’t at the age where they care about others’ judgements about what’s appropriate yet: they have no real idea of what they are and aren’t “supposed” to eat - like worms and dirt and cat biscuits - and merrily stuff themselves with whatever takes their fancy. Some of their likes and dislikes may be whimsical and arbitrary, but they aren’t governed by a desire for acceptance yet.
