Why are some kids picky eaters?

Question

What do you think it is that creates a picky eater? Our friends' son is very picky and doesn't like much of anything. My kids on the other hand will eat pretty much anything. We take them to all sorts of restaurants like Thai, Vietnamese and Indian. My eight year old's favorite is a Chinese/Japanese all you can eat buffet where he fills his plate with squid, octopus, mackerel sashimi and mussels. It doesn't seem like we've raised our kids much differently than they've raised their son, but he won't touch anything that you put on his plate.

Answer 1

It's because of the parents. You are doing pretty much what we did, as well as cooking with all sorts of foods at home. Our son was exposed to all of these foods as just part of the regular routine, so he just accepted them. From when he was young, we just never catered to his whims. He remembers all too well going through a phase where he refused to eat a food, and that food was back on his plate for the next meal, then the next one. He eats veggies other kids have never heard of, as well as lots of ethnic foods, and totally traditional foods. Has very few dislikes, and even those he will pretty much eat if he must.

Answer 2

I used to be firmly in the 'It's all the parent's fault' camp, but now that I have a child, that came back to bite me square on the tush. My son is by far the pickiest eater I have ever encountered. He survives on literally less than a dozen different items. It's not that he isn't offered a nice variety (my husband and I aren't picky and make a full homemade supper daily), he just flat out won't try it. Pushing the subject just causes him to have a panic attack. He does have some sensory issues, and most of them are oral, so I know that's where his pickiness comes into play.

So, to answer your question, sometimes it's the parents, sometimes it's sensory, and sometimes it's who knows what. Probably not the answer you were looking for. LOL

Answer 3

one of 2 reasons. some kids genuinely don't like to try new foods or have a stomach problem that causes them to have bad experiences sometimes when they try new things. but most often i think parents just give kids the same thing every night. im not trying to be mean but since when was mac and cheese a suitable meal for every night of the week. i love my uncle but he has feed his kids spaghetti Os and mac and cheese and cottage cheese for there whole lives and then is surprised when they only eat those things. they would make dinner for them selves and then make that stuff for the kids. every time they go to my moms house she has to make sure that she has cottage cheese bc his little girl wont eat anything else unless it is candy or cake ice cream etc see a pattern. my son however will eat just about anything you put on his plate. he has always ate whatever we did literally at 6 months old i just cut it up really small. there are some things that he just doesn't like such as potatoes he will literally make himself vomit if you give him a potato unless it is a french fry lol. but like i said there are really some kids who are just picky eaters.

Answer 4

It's the parents and what they give their children to eat. My 3 year olds for the most part are not picky, will eat a variety of things. But have them eat whatever everyone else is and they have to try everything on their plate.
When my daughters were babies, we were out with my uncle and my cousins and they will only eat certain things and at home they get only meals they like, like mac and cheese and stuff, they will not try anything new. I asked my uncle about this and he said just wait until your daughters are older. Well they are older and I have no trouble getting them to try new things, and I think it is because I have them try new things and they do not get special meals just for them.

Answer 5

my mom raised us to eat all different kinds of foods but i just turned out to be a picky eater i have goten better over the years but im still picky about certain things. my brother on the other hand eat pretty much anything. i guess i dont have a big interest in food.

Answer 6

I think parents create picky eaters and sometimes that is not the case but most of the time, a child wouldn't try anything that the parents didn't introduce to them from the jump. The more appealing the food looks to the eye, the more the child would want to eat it.

Answer 7

I don't know. As a baby my son ate everything. Now he is 6 and is becoming more picky. My husband and I aren't real picky, I try to make foods that we like. My son loves begetable, but lately doesn't want chicken unless it's chicken nuggets. I think taste buds are like personalities, they develope on their own with a combination of environment and genetics.

Answer 8

I agree with "i'm ok." Kids have immature sensory systems, and this picky kid may have an over reactive taste/smell system.

It's not all the parents. I introduce all sorts of foods to my children, yet my son still eats 2 bowls of baby bananas with mixed grain baby cereal every day.

There are odd textures, smells, tastes, colors...He's just sticking with what he feels safe eating. There's nothing wrong with that.

Answer 9

It is the childs personality in some cases. I have twins. A boy and a girl. Raised exactly the same, feed exactly the same. My boy (was, getting there now) the fussiest eater known to man and my daughter eats pretty much everything. My son survived for years on vita brits for breakfast sandwich for lunch and if I was lucky a yogurt for tea. There are many parents who say their child eats nothing but many don't realise how much "nothing" they really eat. Little bits all day long is still eating if you add it up over the day but I wouldn't let my son snack to try and get him to eat dinner but it didn't matter as he never asked for food or ate it when put in front of him and believe me I tried. I tried everything. Stubborn little **** he is! LOL. It was at the point at 3 he would look at dinner as I dished up (I always made a meal and made him sit with us then I tried "fine, don't eat then go to bed ,it was 5.30ish) and say "I am going to bed goodnight". How do you deal with that? I tried even smaking him. I won't even waste my time telling you that episode but he still didn't eat. Even now at 8 he is still as stubborn but will eat somewhat better as long as I dish up meat with potato, carrot and peas every night or Pasta but sometimes I want something different as does his sister. One night we were going to be home late so I programmed the oven to turn on so when we got in baked potatos were ready and I just heated up some sauce (spaggetti sauce, which he loves and potato he loves, just apparently not together) and sour cream and cheese for sister an myself. well you can read about that episode in my questions list. It ended with him vomitting all over his meal due to the screaming of "I won't eat it" "i am going to bed". I punished him for his behaviour, no scouts, PS2, friends over etc. Two weeks later I asked what he learnt from this. You know his answer? "That i won't eat baked potato's and you can't make me!!!!!" Stubborn little sh*t!

Answer 10

I was a very picky eater as a child, and my sister was the opposite. I was sickly, so maybe my mother catered to me a bit, but many foods made me retch. I thought I was allergic to eggs, because they always made me sick, then I found out that my mother's way of frying them in deep grease (often from a bowl on the stove - who knows how old)was not normal.
Maybe picky eaters are made, not born.