Picky Kids and Christmas Eve Dinner

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or you will take them to the pediatrician for their check up find out they have fallen off their weight curve and get a lecture about making sure they are eating enough even if it does not seem to meet your definition of healthy. You will be asked to return in 3 months for a weight check.

Yes this happened to me too.

[Anonymous]

Italian restaurants don't mean red sauce that causes your kids indigestion---there's noodles with butter and parm, bread, veggies, etc.

Likewise, Chinese restaurants can always do sauce-free options--plain chicken and broccoli can be cooked in a wok, without soy sauce or any spices if that is what they prefer. And they always have plain rice and usually plain noodles (plain lo mein type noodles without sauce or add-ins).

[Anonymous]

I just can't believe you brought food from Five Guys into another restaurant. Epitome of rude and tacky. Your server should not have had to clean up after food that was not purchased in the restaurant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been reading all the suggestions for Christmas menus on this board. We have two small kids (7 & 3), and it's just the 4 of us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Growing up, we did appetizers/snacks on Christmas Eve with tons of family, and maybe a turkey or ham dinner on Christmas Day. The fact is, I don't need all that work for just the 4 of us, when my kids won't eat most of it or appreciate it. Now that we stay home for those two days instead of traveling, I'm trying to find a tradition/way to make it "special" for my kids the way it was for me, even if it's going out to dinner (last year, I think we fed them a "kid" dinner and then grilled steak, etc. for ourselves later, but this year I want it to be more...memorable. My 7 year old liked the idea of going out to dinner instead of breakfast/brunch on Christmas Eve day... but suggested our local pizza place. We do love it there, but it doesn't seem very special, considering we go 1-2x/month. I was thinking about doing something they've never done, like the Melting Pot. That seems fun/special, although risky with a 7-yo who will probably say the cheese tastes wierd and make faces, and our youngest may be stressful around the hot plates....? My other idea was our local and very nice steakhouse, however last time we took the kids, we brought them grilled cheese sandwiches from Five Guys since there isn't a kids menu there. Any other ideas? I'd like us to go out, especially since we literally sit home in our PJ's for those two days - it's very relaxing but nice to get out.

Go somewhere basic like Chef Geoff. It's a step up from the local pizza place.

http://www.chefgeoff.com/media/menus/2/1427924305--CHEF_GEOFFS_KIDS_MENU_SPRING_2015.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There were five of us and my mother put meals on table and that was that-- eat or go hungry. No picky eaters. The five of us do the same with our children and, GASP, no picky eaters. Kids are picky eaters because parents, primarily mothers, allow this ridiculous behavior.

How has the clean-your-plate command worked out in terms of obesity?

No obesity in family. So, no spoiled brats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just can't believe you brought food from Five Guys into another restaurant. Epitome of rude and tacky. Your server should not have had to clean up after food that was not purchased in the restaurant.

The worst thing for a server is the families who take forever, need booster seats, need 10 million free drink refills on milk and extra plates, and leave a mess of food that wasn't even purchased in the restaurant (which is usually some fast food like five guys that smells up a nice restaurant)--and then leave a crummy tip on just the parent's meals. Especially since they usually take up a big table that someone else ends up waiting a long time for because it basically has to be sanitized after the kids leave their mess.

If you have to bring in outside food, please be super polite to your server, clean up after yourself, pick something that doesn't stink like Five Guys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, OP. This is so sad. Another reason not to let your kids grow up to be picky eaters.

Why don't you just try telling them that this is dinner, this is where we're going, and it will be a wonderful family dinner? It's time to get past your current mindset.

Picky eating for some children is unavoidable. Some parents do not "let" picky eating happen it just does. For some kids it isn't a mindset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There were five of us and my mother put meals on table and that was that-- eat or go hungry. No picky eaters. The five of us do the same with our children and, GASP, no picky eaters. Kids are picky eaters because parents, primarily mothers, allow this ridiculous behavior.

How has the clean-your-plate command worked out in terms of obesity?

No obesity in family. So, no spoiled brats.

Well kudos to you both for not having a child with autism. You win! You're better parents AND huge assholes! Congratulations!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There were five of us and my mother put meals on table and that was that-- eat or go hungry. No picky eaters. The five of us do the same with our children and, GASP, no picky eaters. Kids are picky eaters because parents, primarily mothers, allow this ridiculous behavior.

How has the clean-your-plate command worked out in terms of obesity?

No obesity in family. So, no spoiled brats.

Well kudos to you both for not having a child with autism. You win! You're better parents AND huge assholes! Congratulations!

You are ridiculous and you have a huge anger management problem. Get some professional help immediately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just can't believe you brought food from Five Guys into another restaurant. Epitome of rude and tacky. Your server should not have had to clean up after food that was not purchased in the restaurant.

The worst thing for a server is the families who take forever, need booster seats, need 10 million free drink refills on milk and extra plates, and leave a mess of food that wasn't even purchased in the restaurant (which is usually some fast food like five guys that smells up a nice restaurant)--and then leave a crummy tip on just the parent's meals. Especially since they usually take up a big table that someone else ends up waiting a long time for because it basically has to be sanitized after the kids leave their mess.

If you have to bring in outside food, please be super polite to your server, clean up after yourself, pick something that doesn't stink like Five Guys.

I don't think a grilled cheese is very smelly at all. We brought their own milk too and asked nothing of the server for them. Cleaned up after ourselves & left no mess. We always tip extra to make up for the lost cost, and have never had a server care about us doing this - we have done it a few times. We didn't take forever or need booster seats or extra plates....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi All, OP here, thanks for the suggestions! Not really appreciating the judgements on my picky eaters though. We require our kids to try everything, but kids DO have more sensitive tastebuds than adults, and their tastes often evolve over time. I was a VERY picky eater growing up and was NOT forced to try or eat anything I don't like, and I now am a fairly adventurous eater. I DO make my kids eat their fruits and veggies, but beyond that, why bother? I'm not sure this is a "bad habits" issue. Not that I have to defend my picky eaters or parenting choices to anyone...

Here are the things my kids DO like alot:
- Fish Sticks (we buy "healthy" low ingredient ones)
- Chicken Tenders/Nuggets
- Rotisserie Chicken
- Some Mac & Cheeses
- Occasionally Grilled Cheese
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Hot Dogs (we don't allow these often)
- Kielbasa & Perogies (also not often)
- Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes (sometimes yes, sometimes no)
- Cheese Tortellini
- Cheese Pizza
- Cheese Quesadilla
- Turkey/Ham Subs (we limit this as well)
- Beef Tacos
- Sloppy Joe Sandwiches
- Broccoli, Peas, Carrots, Green Beans, Strawberries, Oranges, Apples

They don't like "mixed foods" like casseroles and lasanga. And they don't like spaghetti and meatballs or red sauce (too acidic - canker sores), generally. Or asian sauces (benihana - they are scared of the fire there, PF Changs, Chinese). And they are minimal meat eaters when it comes to burgers and things like that. So this leaves us with not a lot of options.... I'm thinking I'll call the Steakhouse to see what they can offer plain, and think a little more about the Melting Pot as well. Appreciate any ideas or suggestions or things your family does, keep it coming!

Research has show that our response to children's demands guides their eating.
http://news.nationalpost.com/the-kids-menu

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, OP. This is so sad. Another reason not to let your kids grow up to be picky eaters.

Why don't you just try telling them that this is dinner, this is where we're going, and it will be a wonderful family dinner? It's time to get past your current mindset.

Some people are just born vehemently disliking lots of flavors. My parents raised two kids the same way and one is picky while one isn't. You can expose a small child to lots of flavors, have them shop, have them help cook, and they'll still be miserable at the dinner table and cry at restaurants that have unfamiliar foods.

If you read OP's post carefully, you can pretty easily see that is not what's going on here. She's catered to whims for too long and created problems.

RUDE.

Your taste buds are actually replaced about every every two weeks! Most children have about 10,000 taste buds but as they grow, some taste buds stop being replaced. Adults often have about 5,000 working taste buds. This explains why some foods taste much more intense to children, and the decline in number of taste buds makes more foods palatable to adults as some food's intensity isn't tastes as strongly. In a study published in the February 2005 issue of Pediatrics, researches at Monell Chemical Senses state that most children do not like bitter tastes, which can interfere with the consumption of vegetables, while adults do not mind these flavors.

A 2002 study at the University of Western Sydney shows that there is a greater density of taste buds in a child's papillae compared to adults that is linked to children having a higher predisposition to sugar. The same study also shows that teenagers have higher anterior papillae density than adults. Around the time children become teenagers, Science Nordic states the "Mass Experiment 2012" study at the University of Copenhagen shows that teens have a decreased interest in sugary tastes. Teenagers portray an increased ability and sophistication in in distinguishing between tastes as a result, although they are even less likely to try new foods than very young children.

Scientific American mentions on its website that super tasters are persons that have an unusually high density of papillae, which makes flavors very intense to them. While one person would describe as slightly sweet or salty can be overpowering to a super taster. These rare people have a preference for bland foods, because they probably find more taste in bland foods than people who have an average number of papillae. While child super tasters may have a more diverse palate as they age, they will probably be considered "picky" their entire life because of their heightened awareness of tastes.

Yep, it is a whole generation of overindulged super-taster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There were five of us and my mother put meals on table and that was that-- eat or go hungry. No picky eaters. The five of us do the same with our children and, GASP, no picky eaters. Kids are picky eaters because parents, primarily mothers, allow this ridiculous behavior.

But this is the snacking/ grazing juice-fueled generation. My friend would give her girls unfettered access to juice and drinks before meals and not surprisingly, they didn't eat their meals. However, they were always ready for dessert.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi All, OP here, thanks for the suggestions! Not really appreciating the judgements on my picky eaters though. We require our kids to try everything, but kids DO have more sensitive tastebuds than adults, and their tastes often evolve over time. I was a VERY picky eater growing up and was NOT forced to try or eat anything I don't like, and I now am a fairly adventurous eater. I DO make my kids eat their fruits and veggies, but beyond that, why bother? I'm not sure this is a "bad habits" issue. Not that I have to defend my picky eaters or parenting choices to anyone...

Here are the things my kids DO like alot:
- Fish Sticks (we buy "healthy" low ingredient ones)
- Chicken Tenders/Nuggets
- Rotisserie Chicken
- Some Mac & Cheeses
- Occasionally Grilled Cheese
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Hot Dogs (we don't allow these often)
- Kielbasa & Perogies (also not often)
- Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes (sometimes yes, sometimes no)
- Cheese Tortellini
- Cheese Pizza
- Cheese Quesadilla
- Turkey/Ham Subs (we limit this as well)
- Beef Tacos
- Sloppy Joe Sandwiches
- Broccoli, Peas, Carrots, Green Beans, Strawberries, Oranges, Apples

They don't like "mixed foods" like casseroles and lasanga. And they don't like spaghetti and meatballs or red sauce (too acidic - canker sores), generally. Or asian sauces (benihana - they are scared of the fire there, PF Changs, Chinese). And they are minimal meat eaters when it comes to burgers and things like that. So this leaves us with not a lot of options.... I'm thinking I'll call the Steakhouse to see what they can offer plain, and think a little more about the Melting Pot as well. Appreciate any ideas or suggestions or things your family does, keep it coming!

Research has show that our response to children's demands guides their eating.
http://news.nationalpost.com/the-kids-menu

There's no reference to research in that article.

[Anonymous]

Back on topic, op, just go to a midrange Italian place where they can get plain ravioli or tortellini without sauce, plus they will probably have bread and some sort of green salad or veggies.