SC - picky eaters

[Alderton, Philippa]

Picky eaters are not a group dear to my heart. I was raised to eat what was
put before me, or do without- I'm really thinking that those of you with
kids who are picky eaters need to apply some discipline.

At a 4th of July party a few years ago, in addition to the fireworks, we had
a buffet of common foods- barbecued pork chops, corn on the cob, salad, like
that. One of the children of the family, a young girl, kept repeating, "I'm
a picky eater. I'm a very picky eater," like this made her very special.
Finally, after about half a dozen repetitions, her aunt turned to her and
said, "Fine. You can damn well starve. We're eating." For some reason, the
kid shut up ;-), and shortly thereafter was seen filling her plate.

Picky eaters get that way because grown-ups let them. There is nothing wrong
with catering a bit to a kid's preferences- don't serve them the hated
brussel sprouts three meals a day, and maybe make a little extra of their
favorite, fried chicken- but you really need to discipline them and
yourselves to eat what's there. If you don't allow them to eat something
else, they'll suddenly discover that what's there is a lot better than they
thought it was.

I have two dogs, and half a dozen cats. Cats, according to some people, are
notoriously finicky eaters. I never have a problem with them finishing their
food. Why? Because they have a choice of what's there, or nothing. The
longest I've ever had an animal go without eating is two days, on a new
food. Now, I'll admit, I do cater to them a bit- I'll buy them their
favorite food when I can get it, but if I can't, they finish the bag I
bought before they're allowed to start on the next bag.

My dog, Stubby, is my worst eater- she'd been fed people food all her life,
before I got her, and sees no reason why she should go back to dog food. I
had bought a particular kind of dog food for her, and she wouldn't touch it,
right after I got her, so I took it over to the neighbor's, thinking their
dogs might like it. She was with me, and no sooner did I pour it into the
other dog's bowl, than there she was, gobbling it all up, because it was
That Other Dog's food- since then, she eats her food, or not- I don't care.
Yes, all my animals get scraps- I don't trust the so-called balanced
nutrition of the commercial foods, but the major part of all my animal's
meals is good quality pet food.

Kids are no different than critters, in principle. They'll behave as you
train them, mostly. If your kids know that they get no seconds on anything,
or dessert, or snack, unless they eat a reasonable amount of what you've
cooked, trust me, they'll eat what you have for them. Most kids can't go 15
minutes past their mealtime without being convinced they're starving to
death.

Starting to discipline them now that you've let them get away with culinary
murder for a few years isn't going to be easy, but if you don't start
sometime, they're going to wind up like my younger brother, who only eats
hamburgers, John Marzetti, and french fries, and who thinks the only use for
green is as a touch-up stick for his BMW. Considering our father died of a
heart attack at age 56, I suspect his diet is going to catch up with him,
earlier than he thinks.

So hey, do what you want to do, but don't plan on eating with me, unless you
intend to eat good food, well-prepared, in a balanced, interesting meal.

Phlip

Nolo disputare, volo somniare et contendere, et iterum somniare.

phlip at morganco.net

Philippa Farrour
Caer Frig
Southeastern Ohio

"All things are poisons.  It is simply the dose that distinguishes between a
poison and a remedy." -Paracelsus

"Oats -- a grain which in England sustains the horses, and in
Scotland, the men." -- Johnson

"It was pleasant to me to find that 'oats,' the 'food of horses,' were
so much used as the food of the people in Johnson's own town." --
Boswell

"And where will you find such horses, and such men?" -- Anonymous