Extremely Picky 9 Year Old - Need to Try New Foods

I'm assuming that you're not on a super long trip (longer than 3-4 weeks) so just keep her hydrated, hopefully she'll take a vitamin, offer her foods to try when on vacation, and bring snacks she will eat if you can. She won't starve but if she gets hungry enough, she might try something she normally wouldn't. Good luck! Don't stress about it too much and have a great vacation!

You can spend the next 3 months presenting her with a variety of foods or you can simply let her realize that she will need to eat what is presented to her once you're on your trip and new foods are her only option or go hungry.
My guess is that you've spent 9 years catering to her food choices instead of teaching her to eat a variety of foods, so you're both not going to learn a whole new way of handling food in 3 short months.
Let the trip be the wake-up call to both of you that her eating habits and your response to them must change.

How long will you be gone? I imagine she will survive. Pasta and bread are just fillers, only in the US are these things considered a major part of a person's diet (honestly I would be glad she doesn't like these things, there is zero nutrition there anyway.) Even in Italy, the pasta capital of the world, they eat a LOT of meat, beans, cheese, vegetables and fruit.
Unless she is an underweight, sickly, malnourished child, GO, have fun and don't worry about it!!!

If she's that picky it wouldn't hurt to have her evaluated-- it could be a Sensory Processing Disorder or something similair that a therapist could really help with!

My son has major feeding issues through his sensory processing disorder. My son refuses to try noodles, rice, and bread, except through all his feeding therapy he is finally eating plain, un-toasted bagles (not any other type of bread though). I hear all the time that kids won't starve themselves; however, if there is any underlying issues, like with my son's sensory issues, he actually will if he doesn't have food that he accepts. If there are any grocery stores where you are going, perhaps she can pick something out that she will eat? When I was youngster backpacking Europe, sometimes I would pick up jar baby food (apples, pudding, nothing gross) and throw it in my back pack as something to eat in a pinch as well as biscuits (cookies), etc. I was fascinated with the grocery stores in other countries and of course had to pick up chocolate bars everywhere I went. There will be something for your daughter to eat - perhaps if she has an opportunity to pick it out it will help? It may not be convential, but if she has the opportunity to pick out her own food in a safe environment it may quell some of the anxiety. Restaurants can be scary for someone with eating issues. Grocery stores will have similar foods to home. Also, I am sure there will be a McDonald's or Starbucks on every corner - something familiar.

My son has a lot of anxiety around trying new foods as well as the discomfort of many of the smells, tastes, and textures. He can smell an open jar of peanut butter from the other room and it makes him gag - his sense of smell is that strong.

I wish you all the luck. I know how difficult this is as I have been struggling with a similar issue with my own son for the past 6 years. Even after spending 1,000's of dollars on feeding therapy, it has only gotten a little better. I have gotten to the point that I can't stress about it anymore and that helps aleviate the stress off him. If he eats nachos for dinner, so be it, I follow it up with a good vitamin (that was a struggle too until we finally found the right brand for him after 2 years of trial and error).

Well one of the things that could be fun and help is to map out where you are going overseas. Each week you (and maybe daughter) find foods and recipes on the internet that are staples in that country and vow to eat those foods and maybe talk with the accent or use some words from said country at the dinner table.

Make it a part of your prep for the trip.

Worst/best case. She'll get there and she won't want to be hungry and will eat whatever is placed in front of her.
I wouldn't stress about it. Kids won't starve themselves:) (well, mine never have. . .)

I'd figure out something she can eat. The more parents focus on making a child eat something the more they dig in their heels.

My granddaughter has to be THE pickiest eater. She eats some meat, rice, and pasta. She likes H B Helper Spaghetti and biscuits and sausage gravy. That's about all.

I'd say your daughter is going to have to go without if she's not offered some foods that she likes. That's not all that great of course but if she gets sick during the trip from hunger it's not going to be fun for anyone.

I found with my granddaughter when I ignore her food issues and let her have what she wants to eat that she is less stressed and will often try new foods. Of course she often gags and pukes and runs off to brush her teeth but she at least tried it.

I *wish* my kids didn't like pasta or bread products...that stuff's nutritionless junk anyway.

What DOES she eat? Are you concerned about her growth? If she's not malnourished or underweight, I wouldn't worry about it.

And sometimes, when kids are in a different environment, they seem more open to trying new things. I know that my kids will eat stuff in Japan (where my parents live and we visit every few years) that they wouldn't even TOUCH if I cooked it and put it in front of them in the US. I have no explanation for this, it's just the way it is sometimes...

I understand your concern as my 7 year old son has sensory processing disorder and is therefore an extremely picky eater....tho MUCH better now than he used to be. When he was real little we knew we couldn't approach his diet like a regular child when he DID go dinner one night til breakfast 2 days later with ONLY water because he wouldn't eat ANY food from our meals. We were trying to move him beyond whole wheat ritz crackers and skippy natural peanut butter with water to drink that was sustaining his life. He still will not eat pasta or bread or drink white milk among many other things he wont eat. I agree you need to focus on what she DOES eat and go from there. Being brand specific on his pickiness as well, I began cutting labels from what he would eat and made a box with the labels. Each meal had one thing he would eat along with what we were eating that he wouldnt yet eat...but for him I didnt mix foods like just chicken as opposed to chicken casserole. At first it was a huge deal it being on his plate. Had to work our way to encouraging him to lick much less taste something different. We were able to gradually add food to his ok list. Now he is not so brand specific and even asked for stuffing with his chicken that we were having. He's super picky but eats from all the food groups. My son did mess up his digestive system when real little with it but that was when he was literally eating just a few things over a LONG period of time, when I began the label box (what doesnt have a label like bananas, I used google images to print out pictures). By 9 years old, without having a messed up digestive system that needs addressing, i'd guess she does eat more than u think, despite being picky. List them out and see what of that is very available in the country u r going to, or as similar to as possible and I bet that will help ease frustrations in finding enough to eat to get by. Especially if the trip is just a week or so, cant do too much harm in short term I would think.

What does she eat?
I really don't think you can change her eating preferences in 3 months.
Is it sensory?

I find that if I take my kids to a buffet restaurant and letting them choose what they take they will usually end up trying something new and liking it. I also find that when they go away to sleep away camp, or even just to a friends house for dinner they will come home and tell me they tried a new food and liked it. It is good that she doesn't like noodles and bread. Let her eat the healthier foods.

Hopefully you can find something that you child likes while you are there. Even "normal" foods can taste very different in a foreign country. We were in Australia and the chicken nuggets that restaurants sold were totally different than those in the US. I have a picky eater too. We'd go to Vietnamese restaurants and she'd just have rice. One day she tried the beef on our cold noodles and decided that she liked it. So sometimes its finding one item of food and seeing if you can find a version on it where you are eating. And, I feel bad saying it, but there American chain restaurants at many big cities around the world. We ate at McDonalds in Syndney and Tokyo. Totally fun. There are picky eaters in whatever country you're going to and lot's of kids are picky eaters. I guess it depends on how remote the location is that you are going.

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