Tell me this wont cause any serious issues? Fussy child/food

green1970

The more you fret about it, the more that food will become an issue. The thing I found that worked with my daughter was to just encourage her to try stuff - just try mind you, nothing had to be finished in our house but everyone had to try so that your palate can be expanded. I always find that to eat together at the table helped, especially if there were bowls dotted about for everyone to help themselves from to make their own plates up, even if one of those is just a bowl of boring pasta, perhaps she'll just try a bit of this and that that way. Does she like Indian food? You can jazz up vegetables in such a fantastic way cooking Indian style - perhaps try and get her designing the family meals to get her to feel a bit more passionate towards food. A diet that consists of pretty much only carbohydrates can actually be very addictive and hard to break so good luck!

Sagz_2

Have you tried getting her to cook with you? or for herself? Then you can talk to her about meal planning and nutrition.

Some people (myself included) are just not that intrested in food. I can, and often do, eat the same thing 4 or 5 times a week whereas my OH moans if he's eaten the same thing within a fortnight!

Oh, and I've not eaten meat for 20+ years and am fighting fit

Gottodothis

I have been vegetarian since I was 11, I am now 40.

From the ages of 11-15 I was fed only gravy and veg as my parents refused to cook anything different...It didnt do me any harm other than learning to cook and being adventerous with food!

I have never eaten fish and i cannot understand how you can be fussy about free range eggs and then eat a fish?

Pasta every day for a week won't hurt!

aliasojo

green1970 wrote: »

I always find that to eat together at the table helped, especially if there were bowls dotted about for everyone to help themselves from to make their own plates up, even if one of those is just a bowl of boring pasta, perhaps she'll just try a bit of this and that that way.

We're very much a 'sit at the table' family. We have dinner together when OH comes in from work and we often do different things food wise. OH enjoys cooking more than I do and he comes up with lots of healthy options when sometimes all I want is a plate of chips. :rotfl:

It's not that she wont try things, she will. It's more that she says she doesn't like a lot of it, including things she previously ate.

Sagz wrote: »

Have you tried getting her to cook with you? or for herself? Then you can talk to her about meal planning and nutrition.

Yes, we do this anyway.

She also makes a fantastic kiwi sponge cake. She got bored one day and asked to go bake something so I left her to it. She made this kiwi thing and it was very 'more-ish'. I have to say it was as good as anything you could buy, if not better.

uk_american

My library has some good 'cooking vegetarian with kids' cookbooks. Maybe if she participated in the preparation more she wouldn't be so quick to waste food, knowing the effort it took to prepare it. As well, most give a 'kid centric' overview of nutrition and such.

(Disclaimer: I eat vegetarian and fish meals only.) ;-)

aliasojo

Gottodothis wrote: »

I have never eaten fish and i cannot understand how you can be fussy about free range eggs and then eat a fish?

Well that's where personal choice comes into it.

She's young and is learning about the world and how it affects her and how her choices affect it. Perhaps one day she may decide to go further, who knows.

As it is, I'm proud of her for bothering to at least think about some of this stuff. Even if you can't understand her choices.

jenniewb

Well I'd be worried about the lack of protein and fats, these are essential to most for a healthy body and pretty essential for those who are growing. OP, if this has been going on for a while, I'd get her bloods tested with the doctor to show her evidence of any problems she is causing herself, it could be that she is truely a bit obsessed by her health and it could just be misdirected, if she's told the right way of doing things by a medic or health nurse/similar (make sure they are qualified!) and she still chooses to ignore all the advice and eat unhealthily then I'd say you got to worry!

I had an eating disorder growing up. TBH and from what I know of my friends also, it never really leaves you, there will always be reminants for me but the difference is now that I see clearly more of a choice, if I go with what feels safe rather then what is safe IYSWIM.


I think the difference for me and for many of my friends who have EDs (not by any means saying all ED sufferers are like this) is that little spark of energy which comes from the control you have exerted over what you eat. As you age you learn to cover this up, growing up its a bit more obvious to see- the smile on someones (an ED sufferer's) face when they find evidence of their control over their bodies: either weight related or through witnessing blood test results gone bad or so on, its a bit twisted but IMO if you manage to proove to your daughter that she is causing herself harm and it still cuts no odds, she still goes further to cause more damage, this is when I would worry.

Thats just one opinion- I'm assuming your worried that faddy eating would lead to (among other things) an eating disorder, long term of course lacking in a health diet would also cause problems such as bone issues if she is not getting enough calcium and essential fats and there are other things which although can be remedied can cause harm long term. Its more the emotional side of thigns I'd worry about but thats just a relection of my own experience.


Just wonderting; are her friends like this? Does it affect her friendships, school work (concerntration) energy levels..etc? Have the school picked up on any of this and mentioned it to you? (re school trips away)? If its a genuine emotional problem where she really can't cope with different foods then its better to get help with it all sooner rather then later- but it needs to come from her, shopping someone to a counsellor or therapist when they don't want to go can do more harm then good. If they see the problem, want help and believe there is a way out this is when its good to get help.

Poppy9

I decided I wouldn't eat meat around age 4 or 5 and 40 years later I'm still a fussy eater.

I gave up meat because I didn't like the texture but no way was my mother cooking a meal the rest of the family (5 of them) and me so I used to eat the same just minus the meat - basically mostly veg as my mother never cooked pasta.

I was very anemic in my teens but not sure it was related.

I've never eaten fish in my life but love dairy.

I started eating chicken in my late twenties because it actually tastes nice.

I would not make a big deal. If she refuses the food you offer then leave it and offer nothing else if it's food she will normally eat (i.e. excluding meat). If she's hungry she'll eat.

What I do wish I'd discovered earlier is spicy food, especially chilli. I love pasta with a pesto, cream and chillis as food without meat can sometimes taste bland and unsatisfying IMO.

Soups are also good with some nice fresh bread so perhaps make a batch of soup for the week as the back meal.

One of the meals I miss from my childhood is the knucklebone broth my mother made. Everyone else fought over the ham that fell from the bone into the broth but I went hunting the turnips/parnips!

aliasojo

jenniewb wrote: »

Thats just one opinion- I'm assuming your worried that faddy eating would lead to (among other things) an eating disorder,

No, not at all tbh. I'm just fed up of the narrow menu and the waste of something new if she doesn't eat what's put in front of her.

What she does eat is healthy, I just don't feel it's varied enough.

I can hand on heart say that an eating disorder is not even in the running for consideration.

Thank you though.

aliasojo

Poppy9 wrote: »

What I do wish I'd discovered earlier is spicy food, especially chilli. I love pasta with a pesto, cream and chillis as food without meat can sometimes taste bland and unsatisfying IMO.

Soups are also good with some nice fresh bread so perhaps make a batch of soup for the week as the back meal.

We do have a lot of soup. I do leek and potato ('cos it's the only one I'm any good at ) and OH does carrot & coriander and butternut squash & something. We also make home made bread. She loves all of that.

We often have the likes of soup as a starter then salmon, salad and cous cous or a baked potato as a main. She'll happily eat all that, but she can't be having it every day.