| | Jenna211 | Feb 18, 2007 5:47pm | | I am a mother in the U.S. and hear all the time about kids who will "only eat (chicken nuggets, peanut butter and jelly, etc.)" I have always thought that children adapt to what they are fed. For example, I doubt that children in India, China, etc. insist on chicken nuggets or refuse to eat their native foods. Is the picky eater syndrome a western phenomenon or is it worldwide?? |
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Sponsor |  Thomas-Jefferson | Feb 18, 2007 5:52pm | | it is a combo of decadence and poor parenting. |
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Sponsor | | chimichurri | Mar 20, 2007 11:07am | Yeah, what he said. *points up* I agree.
I live in Spain and work with American university students. They are the most ridiculously finicky eaters ever. (When you add to that the number of allergies they have to foods - which is much, much more common in Americans - it gets unreal!)
Spanish children are slipping into the same kind of behavior. At a slower rate... but it's happening. Prepared foods are becoming more popular, more parents work, and active parenting here? *Uf* It's gone all down-hill. |
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Sponsor | | fugitive247 | Mar 20, 2007 8:43pm | TJ, spot on, as usual. Also, I've noticed that a lot of finicky eating seems to be encouraged amongst the little darlings when in group settings away from their parents. For example, my 6 y/o was never a picky eater until he did a stint at pre-school. Apparently the staff would keep the peace by caving into the more militant of the midgets. Of course, the others took notice that it was possible to manipulate in this manner and, voila! Instant dietary-based brats! Chalk this example up to manipulated external nurturing. It doesn't fly at home, trust me.
My 9 y/o, on the other hand, has a severe dairy allergy. He's had to be on such a guarded menu for so many years that he knows he can't afford to be picky. This one is a case of life-threatening nature.
Now, can we hear from some parents whose kids are medically normal and have been only homeschooled? We need a control group by which to further compare. |
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Sponsor | | chimichurri | Mar 21, 2007 4:17am | In Spain people go home for lunch - which is the main meal of the day.
So businesses close up at lunchtime... and school children go home.
That's the way it always was in my home (and still is).
HOWEVER, as Spain *progresses*, things change. More and more schools are moving over to an *intensive* schedule where kids go in earlier in the morning and get out later in the afternoon so they don't have to go back for an afternoon session. This is because families are opting to move out of town into townhouses as opposed to living in apartments in the city. As distances are greater, it's not realistic for the kiddies to be *bused* back and forth nowadays.
Also, women work... meaning that they are run ragged and getting the meal on is difficult so they turn to prepared meals. And since everyone is tired due to today's stressed way of life, they don't actively *parent*. Which means that they cater more to the little ones instead of deal with the hassle of getting them to eat what they do not like.
My daughter (now 15) loves to try new foods (no matter the appearance) so we have no problem there. My son, however, Oh, boy! he was born finicky. I understand just how easy it would be to just give him what he likes and let the family have a pleasant meal and be done with it. But I'll be damned! He hates fish but when there's fish to eat, he gets it to! After years of whinning and fighting about this... low and behold... it's stopped... finally he just eats it (mind you, he's now 16).
I decided early on that I wouldn't cater to him but it's been tedious.
fugitive - your poor son! That must be soo hard for a little kid! |
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Sponsor | | fugitive247 | Mar 22, 2007 12:40am | Thanks, Chimichurri. My 9 y/o's medical challenges are one of the reasons we left city life. His dairy allergy is centered around cow's milk and their components. However, he has no problems with goat milk. Back in suburbia my husband suggested we try our son on goat milk. This was several years ago and it was only available in cans. I cannot describe how utterly disgusting the taste of the canned variety is! Even when we were lucky enough to find pasteurized goat milk in the dairy case, the insane cost was well out of our budget. Don't get me started on the soy alternatives... ;oD
At least here in our new, very rural home there's no shortage of goats. We're still rehabbing our family's 30 acres, but expect to finally have a couple of good milk goats by year's end.
The former unhurried pace of Spain sounds wonderful. My husband spent three months there years before we met. He loved the lifestyle, culture, people- and the food!!! (He still raves about the food.) Too bad that more and more of the globe is losing sight of the fact that capitalism at the cost of family is a losing proposition. "Progress" isn't always progress, no? |
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Sponsor | | Thomas-Jefferson | Mar 30, 2007 7:02am | Depends on how you define "progress"
If you ask me, your leaving city life for the country sounds like "progress" ;) |
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Sponsor | | chimichurri | Mar 30, 2007 8:55am | | Progress and paradise! :) |
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|  smithereens | May 5, 2007 9:46pm | | we just feed our 3.5-year old whatever we eat (homecooked, flavorful, and generally healthy). Problems arise from school and at friends' houses, but if you keep up the discipline and variety at home, I don't believe kids become picky. If you don't expose kids to fast food or candy, they won't eat/want it. |
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Sponsor | | chimichurri | May 7, 2007 3:51pm | But they will want it.
You can't maintain them in a bubble and everyone else will have it.
Granted, you can lead them on for a good long while. But they succumb. It's that stupid *society*.
*sigh*
That's how it was for me anyway. In Spain.
However, people are realizing how bad this is. They just started a campaign in the Spanish public grade school where children are only allowed to bring natural fruit as a snack to school. And I just heard where the US was trying to pass a strict schoolfood bill, didn't I? |
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