Will my picky-eating nephew ever try something new?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

My 13 YO nephew, for as long as I’ve known him (since he was a baby really) has been
an extremely picky eater. Used to be not only would he only touch something from
a very limited set of foods, but often would leave the entree half-eaten. Now, being
the growing kid he is (yes 6 inches in the last half year or so), he does often order
seconds, but it’s always something bland like macaroni and cheese. He ate that at
a restaurant with a perfectly varied menu the other day.

I wonder if he will ever venture out and try new things, hence I ask parents (present
and former) to tell of their experiences with their picky kids. I hope that peer
pressure eventually (“Hey dude you gotta try THIS! It’s delicious!”) either by peers
or (later) business acquaintances will cause him to branch out a bit. Used to drive
my mom (grandma) crazy when she ate with him.

2

Would you have preferred he tried something “perfectly varied,” had a bite, hated it, and wasted $14 worth of food?

3

There’s no way this thread ends well.

4

I was pretty picky until I was about 16. Then I expanded my range, and continued to do so. Now I eat sushi, groats, vegemite, pot stickers, extremely potent cheeses, alligator, mudbugs, and menudo. I’m always on the lookout for something novel to try. I may not like it, but I’ll try nearly everything.

I don’t know why I changed. But gradually the textures and alienness of new foods no longer bothered me so much.

So there’s hope. The most important thing is to not push or nag the person to change. That’ll just make them dig in their heels.

5

One of my boys was a picky eater well into his 20’s. We talked about it once, at a sushi place in Seattle. “You like sushi?” He said that his mac and cheese, spaghettios, McDonald’s, and cereal years were about comfort and routine, not taste.

6

Hi, I’m 21, and I’m still a pretty picky eater by society’s standards. Though it’s not so much that I won’t try things - I’ll try pretty much anything once, as long as the appearance or texture isn’t completely disgusting. And pretty often I’ll find myself trying things on an annual basis that “everyone else likes, so they MUST taste good!”

But I’m sorry, salad still tastes like eating grass to me. I’ll politely ask for my meal without it or refuse it if it’s offered, thanks muchly. I’m going to have my burger without that disgusting ranch dressing you insist on putting on it, because frankly I like the taste of the meat, thank-you-very-much. It’s not that I stick to the bland, either - probably the best out-of-nowhere meal that I’ve had over the past few years involved a stir fry and copious amounts of wasabi. I’m that guy who is adding “too much” red pepper to everything as I cook it.

It’s just that I know what I like, I truly enjoy the act of eating, and I like being relatively in shape. So I’m not going to waste calories on stuff that I think tastes like shit, and if that means being labelled a “picky eater”, so be it. I’m not really that hard to cook for - if there’s meat prominently involved, it’s probably a winner, whether it’s something elaborate or, well, just a slab of meat exposed to flame. So stop looking at me that way when I say “no salad, thanks”.

But I’m sort of an anomaly. Odds are he’ll grow out of it :smiley:

7

I was a terribly picky eater (few vegetables, no tomatos, no eggs, no white sauces on anything, et cetera) despite being literally and sometimes physically forced to eat foods I found disgusting, until I was in my late teens and started working as a cook. I think this was partially because standard Midwestern fare is pretty bland and unappealing anyway, and because I started to discover that when foods are cooked well (i.e. not overcooked, boiled to extinction, and other crimes against humanity) can actually be good.

Even with that, I was in my twenties before I’d eat raw tomatoes, and finding vegetables to eat has been a kind of timid adventure, though I’ll now eat pretty much anything except for green beans and sweet peas. (I’m not terribly fond of broccoli but I’ll have a few pieces if it’s there, and I’ve discovered the love of tenderly sauteed Brussels sprouts.) I still won’t look an eye in the eye, which is kind of a pity 'cause I like cooking omlettes; I just can’t stand to eat them.

As long as your nephew is eating something reasonably healthy–not just complete junk food–I’d say let him be. Eventually he’ll discover that there’s more in the world than mac-and-cheese. Besides, don’t knock macaroni and cheese; I make an awesome sharp cheddar and campanelle with fire-roasted tomato, basil, carmelized onion, and topped with garlicy bread crumbs. It goes great with a hearty chardonnay, and if you don’t need to keep it vege you can throw in some proscuitto. Try that one out on your nephew.

Stranger

8

If he ever changes, it will be on his own. You can make people eat something once, but it won’t necessarily change him permanently. You can’t make someone more open to foods they don’t want to try any more than you could force them to appreciate music they don’t want to listen to, or wear clothes they don’t want to wear.

In past threads, picky eaters have been called selfish, spoiled, uncivilized, ungrateful, etc. As a still fairly picky eater, I would say it’s none of those things, but it’s difficult to describe to a nonpicky eater without coming across as picky and defensive.

I can’t say I’m more sensitive to flavors and tastes than anyone else; after all, I don’t own any taste buds other than my own. But I am very strongly turned off by certain flavors, textures, and aromas. Having them in my mouth makes me gag, literally. They aren’t foods I’ve had bad experiences with. I just don’t like them, and I’ve never been able to eat them.

Some eating habits are dictated by my knowledge of my body. For example, I tend to avoid milk and cream because it badly upsets my stomach. Ditto for spicy foods, for the same reason. The truth is, I want to eat that Cajun Alfredo sauce; I just know there will be hell to pay later if I do. But since I don’t explain my physiological reactions to foods every time I eat, I can see how others might infer pickiness from my menu choices.

And sometimes, foods just aren’t interesting to me, or I need to be in the mood to eat them. Why should I eat something simply for variety’s sake?

My boyfriend is a fascinating contrast. He’ll try anything, and his list of favorite foods is quite long. I envy this, and I wish I was like him. But as any dieter will agree, it’s challenging to change your eating habits, especially as people tend to be creatures of habit. You have to consciously seek out different things in order to experience different things. Most of the time, I will eschew variety and novel experience for the comfort of familiarity. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Peer pressure is a non-factor. I’ve never seen my friends and co-workers pressure anyone into eating anything. I guess they have the class to drop trivial issues before they become arguments. My family hasn’t done it to me much either. If they did (and overdid it), I would tell them, as nicely as possible, that although I appreciated their concern and interest, they were crossing the line between concern and nagging. I’d ask if it was really worth ruining the meal over.

As long as your nephew is healthy and isn’t being a little bastard about accomodating his pickiness, this is not a problem, and it shouldn’t be treated like one. Maybe in a few years, he’ll start enjoying new foods. Or maybe he won’t. Either way, he has his preferences, and everyone else has theirs. The world won’t end just because they don’t match.

9

That is to say, I won’t “look an egg in the eye”, though I can’t say I’m fond of eating eyes, either.

Stranger

10

Thank you so very much for clarifying that; I had assumed that was what you meant, but we all know the trite saying about “assume”. I wondered if I was missing something.

As far as picky kids - I don’t have any so this is a second hand story. My cousin’s son was diagnosed with lymphoma at 18 months of age. Scary is not the word for this - “spinal tap” should not be one of the first words a child learns. There was a period during chemo when the kid would not eat anything. He would drink juice and milk and Ensure but would not eat. Cousin came in one day and he’s on the kitchen floor, eating the hell out of a bowl of dry cat food. Cousin gets hysterical, calls her mom and all the doctors. Doctors consulted with a few vets and a few bags of cat food, and said: “Let him have at it. Feed XXX brand because it has the highest protein content, and act as if you don’t notice.”

He’s now 25 years old, 6’2", and blushes when his Aunt SCL “meows” at him.

11

Yes. I’m a former picky eater. Socializing as I got older changed me. I started expanding my horizons in high school, but then really started in college. Being around different people helped me try new things.

There’s hope!

12

I was incredibly picky as a child, but the things I wanted were all very healthy foods, so my parents just let it go. (My favorite food was spinach.)

I’ll try almost anything, but I don’t like sweet foods. Any of them. People just can’t get over that, and are constantly urging me to try a bite of this cake, or this pie as if it will be the one which instantly converts me into a sweets lover. “Oh, come on. These brownies are really good. Try one!”

13

Add me to the list of the previously picky. I was in my early twenties before I would willingly eat any form of onion (which I now LOVE), and 27 before I would even try raw tomato (now, I can’t get enough). There are some things I won’t eat, and I still don’t like anything remotely spicy. I don’t even use black pepper.

He’ll eat when he’s ready to try. My husband ate corn, peas, and potatoes until he started living with me. Now, he likes a lot of different veggies, and will stand in the produce department and contemplate which broccoli looks the best. Still can’t get him to try creamy sauces though. And he’s WAY past 13 :slight_smile:

14

I was kind of a picky eater. But I’ve changed. Though some people would still consider me a picky eater since I cannot stand the taste of anything that comes from the water. I’ll gladly cook it for my Wife (the smell puts me off a bit though) and I will taste it, but I could never enjoy seafood. I’ve tried.

So it’s not that he can’t stand it, but gets half through and deceided on something else? That’s not picky, that’s spoiled.

15

Or, maybe he just gets full?

16

I was not so much a picky eater as a timid eater - I was just afraid to try anything. I was well into my teens before I ate lettuce. I was in my 20s before I tried broccoli or mushrooms. I was almost 30 before I had BBQ. I’ve found things that I like and things that I hate, but I have gotten less timid. It had to be on my terms, though. I don’t like being forced or cajoled into anything, food related or otherwise.

Some think I’m picky because of the choices I make, but I don’t like spicy or hot food. I like to taste the item I’m eating, not be overwhelmed by seasonings. And I don’t want it to hurt, so I avoid hot peppers and the like. To me, picky means you refuse to eat other than a specific brand prepared a specific way. For example, I have a sister who only eats Utz potato chips, not BBQ or rippled or anything other than plain thin chips, and no other brand is acceptable. THAT’S picky. If I don’t eat salt-n-vinegar chips, it’s because I don’t like the taste. There is a difference.

17

Where in the hell do you get ranch dressing on a burger automatically? Bizarre.

I have two picky coworkers, and normally, it wouldn’t bother me much… but they whine about food THEY BRING TO WORK.

If you don’t like tomatoes, don’t get the prepackaged wrap that CLEARLY says tomatoes on the front and then bitch for half an hour about how much you hate tomatoes, and anyone who likes tomatoes must be a total freak. If you don’t like onions, DON"T GET A CHICKEN AND ONION PIZZA, cook it, and then throw it away, untouched. Moron.

I’ll eat anything once, and I continually re-try things I once didn’t like to see if I like them again.

18

Not if, as it says in the OP, he orders more of one of his favorites right afterwards.

19

A lot of places put ranch or Thousand Island-type dressing on a burger. It has more flavor than mayonnaise and satisfies the whole “special sauce” addition Americans have had ever since the Golden Arches spread across the continent like a wave of fascism. I could personally do without it, but it seems popular.

Stranger

20

No-when younger not only was he very particular about what he said he wanted, quite often
he would just pick at it a few times before forevermore leaving it alone. Dunno why he wasn’t
walking around hungry all the time but there ya go. Now he will snarf it all up but still his
palette is very limited.