When we are eating with other parents that have children, I have to try not to stare or say anything rude about how people feed their children. I really don’t think that we are snobs–we live in a house that is rarely clean–but I am just amazed at how and what people feed their children, and then expect them to come out just fine. There is one couple I know that feed their 2 and 4 year white pasta noodles for every meal since, they swear, the kids won’t eat anything else. Then there are the relatives that pick up fast food, usually fries and a shake, four or five times a week for various meals, and then wonder why the kids won’t eat regular table food.
Yeah, my kids can act a bit picky about their food as well, but it doesn’t last long because they have no choice. Parents wonder at my kids eating their vegetables–they wouldn’t be alive if they didn’t. I don’t force them to eat, I just offer them no other options. Guess what, they eventually eat–and they actually like it.
The real problem here is that lifelong habits are formed in childhood, and it is a shame that so many kids start out on such a difficult dietary path. I don’t write this to judge anyone, but that doesn’t mean that it is not a problem