Anyone Here Who Used to Be a Picky Eater as a Child ????

I use to be an extremely picky eater! I'm still picky, but it has gotten better! I just like what like and don't really like trying new things, Sometimes I'll be wild and try something new. haha.

I was very picky. Today, I am still pretty picky, although I would say I eat a large variety -- but, as my mom pointed out one day and I did not even realize it, I still smell a new food before tasting it! LOL! Apparently I have done that all my life.

Today, I still consider myself pretty picky. It just annoys me when I am hungry and I try a new food only to find out I hate it. I feel like I am being cheated.

I was the worst eater you can imagine. I didn't like anything except candy and cookies. Well now I eat everything! well maybe not everything but most things :).

I never got over my pickyness until I did hypnosis. Now I will try new foods!

Sorry. This probably isn't what you wanted to hear, but I was much like your son. My mom kept telling me that if I would try foods as I got older, my tastes would change, but I'm 40 now and I'm still picky. I do try to eat a variety of foods, but I still don't like them. I don't eat anything green except asparagus - no salad, no other green (or orange, or yellow vegetables). I don't eat fruit except for bananas, and occassionally strawberries and purple grapes. I don't like meat much, but I'll eat it. Chicken is alright. I just don't get very excited about food in general. Both of my children are fairly picky as well, but do like food more than I do. They eat a wider variety than me.

Hopefully your son will be more like the children my mom told me about that grow up to love a wide variety of food. :-)

We have a 3 bite rule in our home. Even if it's just a morsel on the spoon. They have to give it a taste.

Also, there are many creative ways to sneak food into other foods.

For instance, grate a carrot to toss with the pasta, even if he eats around them, he won't be able to pick them all out and the vitamin A will rub off on the pasta. Also use tri colored pasta - sorry, son, the store was out of your favorite this week....

I hide many veggies in mashed potatoes, like onions, garlic, white cabbage, cauliflower. Any white root vegetable can be camouflaged in mashed potatoes. I do use real sour cream and real butter and real salt and pepper in them...so hard not to like.

And remember that research done years ago linked more than 2 hotdogs or baloney products per week to cancer later in life due to he nitrates and nitrite preservatives. So check out Trader Joe's for their chicken breakfast links or preservative free hot dogs.

And as a child I detested canned peas - and I still detest them. They site, smell, and thought make me gag. My kids love frozen petitie peas and frozen corn with any meal.

What about dipping simple veggies, like cucumbers, lettuce, celery in a homemade ranch dressing? My kids dip spinach leaves too.

Just continue to offer a variety of steamed or raw veggies...a few are bound to grab his attention.

Have you tried salsa and chips?

I was a very picky eater. Yes things got better, but there are still things I HATE that I refused to eat when I was little. My main one is salad/lettuce. I refused to eat it when I was a kid and I still won't eat it as an adult.
A lot of people still think I am picky but I feel I have improved a lot! My FIL comments on it because I won't eat my MILs potato salad or macaroni salad....fact is I don't care for the taste of that much mayo...something I ate a ton of as a kid. So some things I didn't like as a child you will find on my plate now, and some things I loved as a child I really don't care for anymore.
We also had the "try it" rule in our house (this came after that "If you don't eat it for dinner your going to eat it for breakfast, and if you don't eat it for breakfast, etc" rule failed!). To this day I tell people I will try it, but I don't promise I will like it. Thats actually how I find new foods I like!
There's hope for your son. I would find new ways to sneak stuff in to his food, but also tell him he has to TRY foods. You never know, he may find something new he likes! Good Luck!

Me!!!!!!!!!! And now I eat just about anything! I'm not 100% but I'm sure it will change. There were things I tried when I was little and didn't like and there were things I just wouldn't try and now I don't think there is anything I don't really like. And my daughter who is now 15 months is picky too lol....speaking of being below percentile...I just took her for her checkup yesterday and she is in the 50th percentile. I don't know if you do this but I do and my doctor said it is not good....because it makes them worse. For example....I told the doctor when I cook dinner and my daughter refuses to eat something I feel bad and I fix her something different....her pediatrician said to NEVER do that because it's not helping them change and then they're not going to want to try anything because they know you're going to fix them something else. She suggested waiting about an hour then try to give them something else. And in the afternoon for lunch/snack don't give such a big meal so they will be hungry at dinner time. I feel for you...because they said my daughter is underweight and I feel like I'm doing something wrong when I'm trying so hard! Good luck!!!

I was a picky eater as a child, picky eater as an adult, have picky eating children and will continue to be a picky eater. I hope I have reassured you and given you some hope..

Seriously though, it will change, but don't force the food down his throat...introduce new foods and tastes and he will acquire his own preference in time. Give him healthy foods that HE likes and that YOU have chosen for him that way both of you are happy he is getting the nutrients he needs.

I was a picky eater for the longest time. All I remember eating was hamburgers, spaghetti, pork chops, corn, mashed potato, grilled cheese sandwich, cheese omelet, carrots and that is about it.

In my late teens, I began to increase my diet to more fresh fruit, yogurt, and chicken. It wasn't until my twenties when I met a man who introduced me to a larger variety of foods.

Now I eat everything and have some meat on my bones!

I was very picky as a child. I covered my three bites of meat which I was forced to take in tons of ketchup. My dad only made me eat three bites of meat because he knew I didn't like it, but he wanted to make sure I had something in me. Veggie were mainly corn, peas and green beans as a kid. I've only recently discovered a taste for fresh raw veggies (I'm 36) and that's because if I was going to serve it to my kid, I had to eat it myself. I still only prefer the taste of chicken. If I have meat, it's still covered in something (sauce, taco seasoning, bun/lettuce/tomato).

Your son can eat whole grain noodles w/ some butter on them. Have him help you make a homemade boboli pizza w/ whole grain and healthy cheeses. Try fuits and veggie different ways. dd likes her veggies best when they are frozen and then cooked in the micro. Carrots, beans, and sugar snap peas she will eat raw, but everything else has to be cooked. Try dried fruits. It's not as healthy as a real fruit, but it's better than none. Try cutting up the fruit and eating it with him. Or let him just gnaw on a whole piece. dd goes in phases which wasy she will eat it and I do what she wants so that she does eat it.

I lived off grilled cheese as a child. I sat at the dinner table for HOURS and would eventually find some way to feed everything to the dog when nobody was looking. I was soooooo picky.
Now, I like just about anything. I like fruit, veges (most of them) and lots of stuff. I never died of starvation.
My in laws lecture me all the time about my kids eating habits. It drives me nuts! Both my kids are picky. I try my best to give them a wide variety of foods. Im not gonna cram it down their throats or make them eat something they dont like. My sons eating habits have already changed a ton since he started school. He wants to eat what the other kids are, so he actually eats school lunchs.
My daughter is pickier. I am hoping she will change as she grows, but if not I will do my best to get her to eat a variety.
Dont stress about it. I give my kids options with each meal, some they like some they dont. They are eating some of it. They get one "healthy" snack and one they get to pick out (crackers etc).

I am a 'reformed' picky eater. As a kid, I grew up in Honolulu during the shipping strikes. Consequently, if it came from a can, I'd likely eat it, but there was a serious shortage of fresh veggies during that time, so I did not like any of those. Bananas grew in the backyard, and the pineapple plantations were close enough for the best, freshest pineapple you ever tasted. Canned corn, soups, beans, SPAM (so much SPAM!), saimin (that's ramen to you), teriyaki beef, pork,kim chi, tons of 'americanized' asian foods-- I would eat it all. But moving to the mainland was hard, both culturally as well as food-wise. My mom remarried a guy that loved really bad salads and was insistent that I eat them. I *still* cannot eat iceberg lettuce to this day. It's taken me YEARS to get over this, and I'm happy to say I'm now at the point I can eat a bit of spinach salad without gagging.

That said, the other foods that my mother wisely just let me develop into: asparagus, broccoli, avocados, peppers, carrots-- all of those things now appeal. Onions, I hated as a kid, and my mom used to use toothpicks to demarcate the border between the meatloaf or tuna casserole with/without onions. This consideration was one of her nice moments. I now eat all these things.

Sadly, because I'm now a pescatarian who developed lactose intolerance to cows milk as an adult, I have now rejoined the ranks of perceived "picky eating". Sigh. (Even if I bring my own food, someone's always gotta make remarks about how 'weird' tofu is or how 'goats cheese tastes odd'. Not sure who the real picky eaters are.:))

I was. When I was younger I would travel with my father for several weeks out of the summer and one time I remember having french toast every morning for breakfast and hamburgers for dinner for about three weeks in a row. It was a safe bet. I knew it was good, so I stuck with what was good. I still kind of do that same thing, but instead of several weeks, I will eat the same thing several days in a row.

I also couldn't stand a lot of types of meats when I was younger and that hasn't changed. I pretty much can only stand, chicken, turkey and really lean hamburger. All other meats have always been disgusting to me my entire life. I am not really afraid to try new things though, as long as it isn't a meat dish, lol!

I never ate vegetables or fruit as a kid other than mashed or fried potatoes and occasional fried okra. I did not start eating them until after I married. My mom thought the only vegetables were green beans and potatoes with occasional (in summer) okra and squash. The only fruit in our house was apples. I hate apples and green beans. My mother in law is the one who introduced me to a large variety of vegetables and I was quite willing to try them as well as many fruits.

With my kids I made a rule that they had to eat the vegetables on their plate and did not really care if they did not eat the main dish or not. Vegetables were required. I made this rule when my oldest was about 6 and would not eat any fruits or vegetables at all. He was not allowed to leave the table till they were eaten. His crying and gagging made it miserable for both me and my husband for several months but he will now eat any vegetable I put on his plate and my other children do as well. He will protest me putting them on his plate but once it is on his plate he will eat it without a fuss. I don't allow him to choose which vegetables go on his plate. I put on his plate what I want him to eat. I did start out with very, very small helpings such as one piece of broccoli, 2 slices of carrot, and 1 piece of cauliflower. Once he gave up on gagging and throwing a fit about those vegetables at meal time I increased the serving size slowly until he was eating a normal serving of those vegetables. I introduced each new vegetable in very small portions and increased them over time as he began to eat them with little or no fuss until it was a normal portion size. Be ready for theatrics and drama when you first start and it may carry on for weeks or even months, but he will give in eventually and just eat them.

Yup, I was. My whole family (5 bros, 2 sists) STILL talk about it.

Now I am very healthy and actually eat a lot. I am, however, a health nut and still very picky about what I eat, organic, full-fat but low sugar, etc.

It certainly had very little to do with my childhood, however, so buck up. If his weight is fine, I am sure he will be okay in the end. :-)

Hi D.!

I will not offer any advice, but hopefully I can encourage you. I was first a VERY strong willed child and second a VERY picky eater. I cannot even begin to tell you the monumental fits I would throw when I would find out we were going to eat out at a Chinese food restaurant. I only ate fried wontons and did that very grudgingly.

Despite the terrible fight I would put up with food, both my parents (even after divorce) maintained a standard of healthy eating at home. I have eaten more than my fair share of junk "food" (I put food into quotes because I don't dare call the things I ate real food) throughout my teen and early adult years, BUT I can say now that my eating habits have taken 180 degree turn. I despise eating out. I value eating real home cooked food. Lots of veges :). In my fridge right now is leftover acorn squash soup with kale. I have learned the value of eating real food and now consider it a great value and priority in my life.

I cannot say what you can or cannot do that might bring about that change in your son, and I don't think that is even what you want right now. I do want to encourage you though that even the MOST strong willed and SUPER picky eater can change!

God's Grace to you,

Lisa :)

My daughter is 10 and has been in the under 15% (and even down to the 1% for a while) all her life. She drank PediaSure every morning from age 1 to about 6 when we switched over to Carnation Instant Breakfast in chocolate milk since it is a lot cheaper and she was eating a bit more regular food. There are days when she will only have the Carnation in the morning, some pretzels and a few cereal pieces plus a juicebox at school, and then some pasta and some broccoli for dinner. She does like cookies, so I give her desert every evening. We found that we have to feed her more frequently. Snack after school at 4, dinner at 6, 7, dessert at a protein bar and a glass of milk at 8. SpecialK makes protein bars that taste like candy bars but have 10 grams of protein in them, sold in the pharmacy section of Shaw's near the Ensure for adults. Sunkist makes a Protein Smoothie that is sold in the grocery store near the fancy expensive juices like Odwalla that has 20 grams of protein in it and tastes like an orange cream icecream. Our pediatrician said it is our job to put healthy foods in front of her and her job to choose how much to eat.

My son went through a picky phase where he decided he only liked a few things and he was small compared to the other boys his age but he outgrew it all..well he is still shorter than most his friends but that's genetics.

I was a fairly picky eater when I was little also - but my Mom didn't tolerate it very well so I got over it pretty quickly - except when at Granny's because she would cook "special" just for me. LOL

I kept cooking like normal and also employed the three bite rule...he had to try everything on his plate. I did try to make "easy" foods - things that incorporated what he liked but in different ways. I also discovered Morning Star Farm (soy) corn dogs, chicken nuggets, and breakfast links. He really could not tell the difference and I think they are healthier than the regular products. I would use turkey or soy protein instead of ground beef, things like that.

Anyhoo, he is now 14 and now eats a wide variety of food.

Oh, I also used to sneak veggies into things - my favorite was chocolate zucchini cupcakes.

I used to be a super picky eater and now I'm not too terribly picky, though there are certain foods (mostly seafood) I won't eat. In my case, I had a family that unrelentlessly teased me about it from my earliest memory. They wouldn't expect me to like it and teased me before I even tried a new food. This increased my anxiety, which upset my stomach, which made me not hungry for anything let alone something new! I don't think most families do this to their kids though thank goodness! I started to eat more new foods once I left home and was around people who just accepted me for who I was, which made me more interested in trying new things.

Almost everyone I have known who says they were picky eaters has shared they out grew it for the most part so I'm sure you have nothing to worry about:)

One thing I will say is to NEVER UNDERESTIMATE the power of a good sauce jam packed with small bits of healthy things! This is something that helped me get to know and appreciate different flavors at a slow pace until I could work up to the real deal in it's origional form. I read somewhere that picky eaters have more taste buds than non-picky eaters so tastes are stronger, which means a slow introduction helps (this is one reason baby foods are so bland).

Anyway, there is hope for your picky eater:)

I was and still am a picky eater. As a child I had a very limited menu of things I would eat. Not to discourage you, but that didn't really change until I was entering my 20's. The more my parents tried to force foods on me, the more I refused to try new stuff. As a mother, I try to remember my feelings as a child while I'm trying to get my toddler to eat his veggies!

I used to be SUCH a slow, picky eater. It would take me an hour to eat, and I refused most foods. When I went to live at my grandma's, she wouldn't have any of that. I was still a slow eater, nothing anyone tried could fix that, (I did grow out of that eventually) But she MADE me eat what she served. If I didn't like it, tough. If I refused to eat it I would have to sit at the table until everyone else finished... then my plate was put in the fridge with saran wrap. I wasn't allowed to eat anything else until I ate that plate. She DID make allowances for genuine dislikes... If we at least tried the food and still didn't like it, we were allowed to eat something else. (Usually something really blah and boring, so that we wouldn't refuse just for that other option.) Now, I will try just about anything once or twice. :)

I've always been a picky eater. I still don't like certain textures, which is my problem... not flavor. So my mom, and my husband, tend to just puree things, or chop onions and tomatoes into large pieces so I can pick them out easily.

I was a terribly picky eater, but when I got to college I started craving vegetables, and now I still wont eat everything (tomatoes, for example) but I will eat a lot more than I did as a kid.

Children will eat what you feed them. Perhaps you can start by introducing one new food a week. He will eat when he is hungry. You don't offer him anything else.

The fact that he is only at the 25th percentile is not all that bad. He probably just needs to consume more calories. Pediasure has an older version that you may want to try. It is a little spendy, but there is also the "off-brand" option.

Best of Luck

it will only get worse as a teen. Please try to change his bad habits now. You're the parent, & honestly the time to "win" this was when he was 2. Peace.