Picky Eaters?!?!?

“Other things in a child’s life take time — learning to read, tie a shoe, ride a bike — and to that, parents say OK. But when it comes to food? When a child refuses something new? When a drive-thru or children’s menu is the quickest path to appeasement? That’s when parents throw up their hands and cry picky. Or, worse yet, tell a child she won’t like something before she even tastes it.”

The above quote is from a post I read over at Spoonfed a few weeks ago that I haven’t really stopped thinking about it. The topic was on kids eating habits. No, I do not have kids yet but I am a cousin, auntie, and former nanny. I have been around kids a long time. I know toddlers that love pad tai and others that ASK for salad for dinner.  Just the other day I watched my nearly 1 yr old niece eat chicken tortilla soup like it was the best thing she ever tasted.  Yet thousands of parents around the country serve their kids the same plain pasta, grilled cheese, chicken fingers and mac & cheese out of the blue box???? Even worse, they do it EVERYDAY. I don’t really believe in “kid food”.  I believe in REAL FOOD served in kid sized portions. That isn’t to say that sometimes the above items may not be on the menu (except for that blue box. That is never an option) but a lot of other colorful, flavorful, healthy meals will be in the mix too. Variety is the key to life! I think that if you are new to real food than this might be easier on little kids than ones that already have the bad food habits but It is never too late to start. I think that it is important to remember that the only reason they are requesting the junk food over real food is because at some point YOU introduced it to them….

check out the article in its entirety:  http://spoonfedblog.net/2011/02/23/want-kids-to-eat-better-stop-calling-them-picky-eaters/