I'm 32 and I would say my taste preferences broadened in my late teens to early 20s and I definitely got less picky in terms of willingness to try new things, enjoyment of different spices and sauces, etc. but the texture issues never changed. I was not as picky as your son sounds but I had/have serious issues with foods that my brain thinks are supposed to be one texture but present as another. E.g. cereal should be crunchy, I have never put milk in it. I cannot stand sandwich bread that has gotten wet with oil or too much mayo, I will throw the whole thing out. I can't do ice cream cones because they should be crunchy and they get soggy. Improperly cooked pasta or anything mildly burned, blech. But I have no trouble with naturally mushy foods like mashed potatoes, pudding, Jell-O, etc.

The biggest impact this has is with leftovers, as I can't stand most of them because the texture changes from what it's "supposed" to be on the second heating. Chicken is about it for me on that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, I'm 41 and still have issues with certain textures. Doesn't limit my diet in any way, but there are definitely a few textures I never got used to.

35 and same. I don't even really consider myself a picky eater at all, but I will pass on things like jello, rice pudding, flan, uni, oatmeal, most yogurt etc. because I'm not into the texture. I *can* eat these things, I just don't like them much.

My DH is the same. Always a picky eater, was hospitalized with an IV when he was younger since he refused to eat certain foods, no matter how hard his parents pushed.
He's still picky, and will never be a foodie. He would be happy with just cereal and pizza.

Anonymous wrote:Um, I'm 41 and still have issues with certain textures. Doesn't limit my diet in any way, but there are definitely a few textures I never got used to.

35 and same. I don't even really consider myself a picky eater at all, but I will pass on things like jello, rice pudding, flan, uni, oatmeal, most yogurt etc. because I'm not into the texture. I *can* eat these things, I just don't like them much.

If my one son couldn't chew the food, he couldn't eat it. Ice cream was 50/50 on if he ate it or passed on it. Cereal was fine as long as he didn't let it set and get too soft in the milk.

He could do mashed potatoes if I left some chunks. Smooth mashed? Nope. Chewing anything too smooth gagged him.

So, like, no yogurt or apple sauce. No soups without anything in them. Crunch PB, yes but smooth PB, no. He could do oatmeal if he made it his way and much drier than the amount of liquid it called for.

He's 16 and still this way. But a few years ago he started being able to eat yogurt if he put big chunks of granola or fruit in it.

The big thing he hates is bread! He hates the way it squishes in his mouth and the texture. He orders sandwiches wrapped in lettuce where he can and at other places he'll just eat in innards and leave the bread.

Anonymous wrote:
My 14 year old is still like this. As a toddler he had occupational/feeding therapy because he had issues with sensing food in his mouth. He chews a lot more than normal and has a sensitive gag reflex. It's as if his body is afraid of choking with those slippery, mushy foods.

So no yogurt, banana, avocado, tofu, porridge-type stuff and he's actually not a fan of ice cream either.

He loves crunchy things too! Probably his mouth cavity can feel those much better.

PP again. I do not describe this as picky: this is a real sensory disorder! My son eats a healthy variety of fruits, vegetables, carbs and protein, as well as liquids (soups and sauces), but not that in-between mushy texture that apparently his tongue and teeth don't know what to do with.

Very picky from 2-5, now at 9 I don't worry about what she will eat if we are going out/eating with friends/at school. She still doesn't like soft, creamy textures very much, but the foods that she does eat are so numerous that it doesn't feel like a big deal.

My 14 year old is still like this. As a toddler he had occupational/feeding therapy because he had issues with sensing food in his mouth. He chews a lot more than normal and has a sensitive gag reflex. It's as if his body is afraid of choking with those slippery, mushy foods.

So no yogurt, banana, avocado, tofu, porridge-type stuff and he's actually not a fan of ice cream either.

He loves crunchy things too! Probably his mouth cavity can feel those much better.

Anonymous wrote:6 yo DS is somewhat picky and it appears it's mostly texture-based. He prefers hard crunchy food, abhors mushy soft food. He was like this even as a baby. I have never known him to eat yogurt or stews or mashed potatoes or anything mushy -- ok, ice cream is an exception. Cereal without milk is ok, cereal with milk a big NO! No oatmeal.

Typically kids like this want their food to be all one texture. They don't like two textures at the same time -- so no cereal with milk, no yogurt with berries in it or nuts on top.

They want food to stay basically the same texture all the way through as they eat it. So the don't like grapes or orange sections because those are hard at first but then become squishy and slimy. They do often like peeled apples or pears, because those stay more firm even as you chew them. (You have to take the peel off though because that is a second texture.)

They often like crunchy bacon but not squishy bacon. They often like certain crackers.

If they do like peanut butter they won't like crunchy peanut butter.

One thing you can do is teach them to chew with their back molars on some food. For some reason that helps.

Um, I'm 41 and still have issues with certain textures. Doesn't limit my diet in any way, but there are definitely a few textures I never got used to.

My 10 year old is now at a point where he will try most things. My mom is almost 70 and is pickier than most toddlers (would only eat a handful of things). Everyone is different.

My niece is 13 and still very picky, cannot eat food with sauce, etc. I figure she'll get better in her 20s. Or not.

Around age 14.

That was with a lot of working with him, very kindly and gently, and with great understanding. We didn't make him feel bad about not liking certain textures. We did not require him him to eat things he didn't want to eat (or go hungry until the next meal.)

We got a lot of flack from family members and friends that we were catering to his pickiness. But eventually he started being willing to try new things, and his ability to eat new textures exploded! He now eats like any adult.

My Dc is 20 and still has issues. We worked really hard adding food slowly so over time he has “enough” variety, but it still very picky about quite a bit.

Anonymous wrote:6 yo DS is somewhat picky and it appears it's mostly texture-based. He prefers hard crunchy food, abhors mushy soft food. He was like this even as a baby. I have never known him to eat yogurt or stews or mashed potatoes or anything mushy -- ok, ice cream is an exception. Cereal without milk is ok, cereal with milk a big NO! No oatmeal.

If your kid was like this, did it change on its own at some point? Just wondering if I should do something active to change it or if he'll just grow out of it.

My child has what you describe exactly. He is currently 9 1/2 and there has been no change despite numerous creative efforts and headaches. You might as well just coast along with it. Therapists have told me you can't really change it until they are older and want to change for themselves.

6 yo DS is somewhat picky and it appears it's mostly texture-based. He prefers hard crunchy food, abhors mushy soft food. He was like this even as a baby. I have never known him to eat yogurt or stews or mashed potatoes or anything mushy -- ok, ice cream is an exception. Cereal without milk is ok, cereal with milk a big NO! No oatmeal.

If your kid was like this, did it change on its own at some point? Just wondering if I should do something active to change it or if he'll just grow out of it.