Betty White said the secret to her longevity was hot dogs and vodka everyday. Or something like that.

Forcing kids with a food aversion to eat through coercion might appear to solve the problem. It doesn’t. In many, many cases the food issues are going to resurface with a vengeance later, along with a screwed up relationship with the parent.

I have repeated EVERY platitude on this thread and then had a kid who will only eat foods that are a single texture and that will disintegrate completely in his mouth. Texture issues since he was first introduced to solids. He WILL just go without food. Now eight years old and 1st percentile for BMI. He’s in OT feeding therapy but without much progress. His younger sibling? No issues at all. Great eater. We did nothing differently.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Immigrant here. Honestly this kind of behavior does not occur in my country. One dish is prepared for each meal and the WHOLE family must eat whatever is served. Don’t want to eat it because of ‘pickiness’ then fine, go hungry. They eventually will eat some of what is served.

We don’t coddle the children like they do in the US.

I am an American and this is what my mother did and I do the same.

+1. Another American here, and we had to sit at a the table until we had eaten a reasonable portion of the food. It taught us lessons about waste.

I tried this and I cannot tell you how much I regret it. I mildly traumatized my autistic child, and I am not being hyperbolic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Immigrant here. Honestly this kind of behavior does not occur in my country. One dish is prepared for each meal and the WHOLE family must eat whatever is served. Don’t want to eat it because of ‘pickiness’ then fine, go hungry. They eventually will eat some of what is served.

We don’t coddle the children like they do in the US.

complete rubbish!! Researchers at Childrens National Medical Center have traced this problem with eating to a specific gene. These kids would starve to death versus eat what they perceive as atrocious. It’s extreme. It’s called problem eaters, not picky eaters. It’s a real problem.

Don’t bother. People who don’t have kids like this just don’t/can’t understand. I don’t really blame them I guess, it’s hard to comprehend that a human would just choose to go hungry when they have the option to eat nutritious and by most definitions delicious food.

Anonymous wrote:Immigrant here. Honestly this kind of behavior does not occur in my country. One dish is prepared for each meal and the WHOLE family must eat whatever is served. Don’t want to eat it because of ‘pickiness’ then fine, go hungry. They eventually will eat some of what is served.

We don’t coddle the children like they do in the US.

complete rubbish!! Researchers at Childrens National Medical Center have traced this problem with eating to a specific gene. These kids would starve to death versus eat what they perceive as atrocious. It’s extreme. It’s called problem eaters, not picky eaters. It’s a real problem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Immigrant here. Honestly this kind of behavior does not occur in my country. One dish is prepared for each meal and the WHOLE family must eat whatever is served. Don’t want to eat it because of ‘pickiness’ then fine, go hungry. They eventually will eat some of what is served.

We don’t coddle the children like they do in the US.

I am an American and this is what my mother did and I do the same.

+1. Another American here, and we had to sit at a the table until we had eaten a reasonable portion of the food. It taught us lessons about waste.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh honestly, not EVERYONE in any country does the same thing. I bet the people with kids who would rather starve than eat certain textures just hide it bette4 and live in shame.

Because even here there is shame around it. No one WANTS ago feed their kid five foods or less. Or spend money on books and specialists to be told don’t worry - they might outgrow it.

It sucks. It is embarrassing. But I also can’t fight 3 meals a day.

I’m the PP. No need to fight with your kid three meals a day. My mother would just calmly put the meal in front of me and basically that was all that was offered until the next meal (besides the occasional fruit.) If I didn’t eat any of it, that was fine….no one would get upset, shame me or flight with me to eat. I would just be hungry until the next meal.

My family also did this and I just didn't eat. I was an extremely thin kid and I'm the shortest woman in my family by a couple inches. I think I didn't achieve my potential height because I didn't consume enough calories to grow. I also developed a severe eating disorder as a teen, I think in part because I was so used to being hungry and not responding to hunger cues.

It was your decision not to eat. Blame yourself.

You are PROFOUNDLY ignorant. Take a seat.

Love all these posts about how only Americans do this when the only person I know personally who would entertain it is my South Asian MIL. Guess what, people worry about underweight kids in every culture and go to great lengths to help them eat. Ever seen a Japanese kid’s lunchbox?

Anonymous wrote:Immigrant here. Honestly this kind of behavior does not occur in my country. One dish is prepared for each meal and the WHOLE family must eat whatever is served. Don’t want to eat it because of ‘pickiness’ then fine, go hungry. They eventually will eat some of what is served.

We don’t coddle the children like they do in the US.

A cousin of mine overseas only ate french fries until she was about 17. She very minimally expanded her diet, and then in her 20s started to become obese. She dropped dead before she was 40, and family said they had “no idea” what led to her death.

Anonymous wrote:Immigrant here. Honestly this kind of behavior does not occur in my country. One dish is prepared for each meal and the WHOLE family must eat whatever is served. Don’t want to eat it because of ‘pickiness’ then fine, go hungry. They eventually will eat some of what is served.

We don’t coddle the children like they do in the US.

Hi, "Immigrant here!" You should probably stop flaunting your ignorance now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Y'all realize that such kids wouldn't be coddled in other cultures right? Children in other cultures have much wider palates.

And in some cultures they die, and it's called "Failure to Thrive". Please don't be so dense.

These children have no food. Watch the news!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like, only hot dogs. My sister and BIL literally are ok with it. The kid controls them and they gave up long ago. I’m so repulsed by how they let her literally eat hot dogs for every meal as it’s so bad for her health. Part of the problem is that she’s severely underweight so at this point they think the hot dogs will at least provide calories. It’s just gross to watch. I wish I could change things for her but the family won’t listen. They’re to exhausted to put in the work to fix the issue.

I knew someone who worked in a meat processing plant and he told me what went into hot dogs. That was 20 years ago and I have never eaten another hot dog or served them in my home.

*applause*
Well aren’t you fantastic. And totally helpful!

Yes. I am and I gave myself attanous and hold stars me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh honestly, not EVERYONE in any country does the same thing. I bet the people with kids who would rather starve than eat certain textures just hide it bette4 and live in shame.

Because even here there is shame around it. No one WANTS ago feed their kid five foods or less. Or spend money on books and specialists to be told don’t worry - they might outgrow it.

It sucks. It is embarrassing. But I also can’t fight 3 meals a day.

I’m the PP. No need to fight with your kid three meals a day. My mother would just calmly put the meal in front of me and basically that was all that was offered until the next meal (besides the occasional fruit.) If I didn’t eat any of it, that was fine….no one would get upset, shame me or flight with me to eat. I would just be hungry until the next meal.

My family also did this and I just didn't eat. I was an extremely thin kid and I'm the shortest woman in my family by a couple inches. I think I didn't achieve my potential height because I didn't consume enough calories to grow. I also developed a severe eating disorder as a teen, I think in part because I was so used to being hungry and not responding to hunger cues.

It was your decision not to eat. Blame yourself.

Anonymous wrote:Immigrant here. Honestly this kind of behavior does not occur in my country. One dish is prepared for each meal and the WHOLE family must eat whatever is served. Don’t want to eat it because of ‘pickiness’ then fine, go hungry. They eventually will eat some of what is served.

We don’t coddle the children like they do in the US.

I am an American and this is what my mother did and I do the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh honestly, not EVERYONE in any country does the same thing. I bet the people with kids who would rather starve than eat certain textures just hide it bette4 and live in shame.

Because even here there is shame around it. No one WANTS ago feed their kid five foods or less. Or spend money on books and specialists to be told don’t worry - they might outgrow it.

It sucks. It is embarrassing. But I also can’t fight 3 meals a day.

I’m the PP. No need to fight with your kid three meals a day. My mother would just calmly put the meal in front of me and basically that was all that was offered until the next meal (besides the occasional fruit.) If I didn’t eat any of it, that was fine….no one would get upset, shame me or flight with me to eat. I would just be hungry until the next meal.

My family also did this and I just didn't eat. I was an extremely thin kid and I'm the shortest woman in my family by a couple inches. I think I didn't achieve my potential height because I didn't consume enough calories to grow. I also developed a severe eating disorder as a teen, I think in part because I was so used to being hungry and not responding to hunger cues.