How to get kids to eat at the table, Part II: Lindsey's question

Apr 3, 2010 by

In response to my previous post, “How to get kids to eat at the table,” a reader named Lindsey asked the following question:

“What if I’ve been doing all you listed above since my children (now 6 and 4) were babies, and they still don’t eat what’s put in front of them?

It’s not that they’re not hungry or that they don’t like what I make. They poke their way through each meal, sometimes playing (even when asked to stop), my son will turn his nose up at things, but we require him to taste everything. They dawdle, and my husband and I always finish every meal way before they do.

I feel as though I’ve tried everything. Do you have any suggestions for that? Other than that, I enjoy your posts, and thank you for all your insight.

Lindsey , Thanks for your excellent question! It really…

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Is Your Child Neophobic? Give Her More New, Not Less

May 5, 2009 by

Arcimboldo2

YOUNG CHILDREN TEND TO BE FEARFUL of new foods, especially when the foods are arranged into the shape of a clown.

Young children tend to be naturally neophobic—afraid of newness—about food, experts now tell us.  But is this neophobia inborn in normal children? Au contraire: children are born naturally wanting to discover and explore.  Infants are ready to put anything and everything in their mouths.

Yet I  have observed that the majority of kids who have come to my house over the years— though not my own kids—have indeed been afraid of not just new foods, but of food in general, including chicken, peas, potatoes,…

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The Myth of 'Kid Food': Wanton Gods in a Hostile Universe

May 1, 2009 by

Humanseasy prey

The design of the universe must be shoddy, or perhaps the universe and its gods are outright hostile to humans. One of the most ironic examples of the gods’ cruel mockery of us is that we humans are born with no desire for the healthy foods our bodies need. Instead, we’re born craving junk food. Or so the thinking goes.

I’ve observed that at gatherings of both adults and children there often will be Real Food for the adults and “kid food”—usually pizza, maybe hotdogs, but generally highly processed—for the children. Because that’s what they like, don’t they? That’s What They Will Eat.

Some parents make two separate meals at home:…

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