To think she’s just lucky her kids aren’t fussy and not to do with parenting

As a British mum I do think there is a problem with how we feed our children. You see kids in prams with a bag of crisps in their faces befor they can speak... kids must have a treat at pick up time from school... people feed their kids shite and then are amazed they wont eat bananas!
Culturally we are weird about food.

Culture is a huge influence. Do we really think that poor kids 300 years ago refused to eat what they could?

I agree with her it is British culture!

It’s partly due to parenting, I had a fussy child but would not pander to it, it was really tough to get her to eat more things, much bribery and many tears, gagging etc but it got better (after years not months). I’m not saying everything is down to parenting either, but parents with well behaved children with good table manners work hard to get to that point there’s no magic wand

It's luck I've three children raised the same way two are good eaters the first is excellent the second has a few dislikes but is still a solid eater my third would starve to death in an apocalypse

The relevance is that the average British person is open to lots of different cuisines and tastes. More so Id say than Italian or French counterparts. Was recently on a work trip to Paris- lots of great French bistros, but I was getting rather bored with similar ( if lovely ) dishes every night.

these restaurants in UK aren’t only catering for the community they come from. Whether it’s Italian, Lebanese, Japanese, Indian, Mexican - their clientele are mostly British. I was at a food hall eating Uzbek dumplings recently- no obvious Uzbek clientele.

London is very diverse. The rest of the UK not so much. but the average high street will have a real variety of cuisines.

It’s parenting. Kids eat a well rounded diet if it’s expected of them

I think its both. Middle eastern and italian introduce lot more spice and flavour introduced at a younger age, a lot more joy and experience around food and meal times and cooking.
the british cuisine is bland in comparison.
I am british but have lived in other countries and have to agree slightly with your friend.

Also think it's both. Definitely some natural instinct - of my two, one will happily eat curry/mussels/antipasto/fresh fish on holidays, one looks straight down the menu for the burger option.

But the general food in the UK is quite bland and uninspiring. We eat a lot of unhealthy processed food, is it any wonder our children pick up on this? I wasn't raised in the UK, but I would never have been served beige freezer food so I didn't know it existed to develop a fussy nature for!

I think it’s interesting that you followed the ‘advice’ with your second and he’s the fussy one.

Could it possibly be that it’s the prescribed approach that’s the problem…?

I think baby-led weaning etc has a lot to answer for.

I think it’s a bit of both too.

I have one DC who has always been very adventurous and willing to try anything. But the other is very fussy even though I actually followed the weaning guidance more closely with him - lots of finger foods etc, waited til fully 6 months - and both of them got lots of home made foods from the start, very little in the way of pouches etc. Both exposed to a range of foods.

The one who is “fussy” has ADHD though - so I think that has something to do with it, as the fussiness is largely about textures and combinations of foods.

My 6yr old DD is like that. She's always been exposed to a wide range of food and loved curries and all sorts as a toddler. She got a bit more restrictive around 4 which I attributed to the move from nursery to school. She's got much better now.

If I list out what she eats it's sounds great but she'll only eat my or my parents versions of them. Eating out with her is a pain. I'm actually happy that at 6 she's finally decided she likes fish fingers because at least it's something safe to order that isn't just a jacket potato!

She does love trying new things though and we recently went somewhere where she tried and rejected the kids burger but happily chomped her way through half my gorgeous lamb rump steak so it's rather variable!!

I don’t understand the relevance of this?

We have a diverse restaurant culture because we’re a diverse country.

I mean that waking multiple times a night and the whole household getting rubbish sleep is seen as normal and just accepted.

I can’t believe the crap British people put up with.

Also agree it’s a bit of both. I do think some children are just really fussy no matter what. But it also helps massively if they see the adults around them eating a variety of healthy foods, and if everyone eats as a family together.

When you see a children’s menu here in the UK it’s 95% chicken nuggets, fish fingers, burger, pizza with chips and peas or beans. Many other countries will have child portions of the adult meals.

In what way, sleep? I remember some of my NCT friends (Brazilian and Chilean) who were amazed at how early my toddler went to bed and had a much more relaxed attitude about it!

So this subject absolutely fascinates me because I have a nearly 3 year old who went through an incredibly fussy phase and basically lived on homemade lentil and veg soup for about 3 months because of it. He now will eat a variety of homemade food with minimal fuss (although sometimes if he hasn’t napped he will put up a fight about it). He will eat: butternut squash pasta, fish pie, cottage pie, spag Bol, pitta pizza, lentil soup, mince and tatties, spinach mac and cheese. Believe me, this is a massive improvement on even 3 months ago. We did it by not giving up, basically. We told him he needed to eat his dinner and if he didn’t want it right now he could go sit and wait until he felt like it, read a book etc, but he couldn’t play with toys or watch TV or anything. My partner sits on the stairs with him and waits until he’s “hungry” (he’s always hungry but fights it because, toddlers) and then he will eat it no problem. We don’t make him eat it all but he has to have at least 8 spoonfuls or bites. I’m sure there are people who will say this is really cruel and awful to subject a toddler to but we think it helps set the expectation that he has to try new food. It’s helped so much and it allows me to sneak a new dish in there every week or so alongside old favourites to gradually increase his tolerance for new food.

Dd au paired for a French/Afghan couple. Maman was very clear what the kids ate and didn’t. They still had sweet stuff, but limited, but basically ate smaller adult meals. Dad tended to be less strict, but the variety of foods they would eat was extensive. One child tended to finicky, but compared to say, what Dds brothers were like, it was nothing and it wasn’t pandered to.

Well I think the proof is in the adults that British people become.

I think the restaurant scene in Britain is one of the best in the world and is one of the few countries in the world ( having lived, worked and visited many) where there is real variety in the food available- both in restaurants and supermarkets.

don’t get me wrong, the Mediterranean diet is one of the best. But restaurants in individual countries are overwhelmingly the local cuisine. So people are very narrow in the type of food they’re even prepared to eat on a night out.

similarly, there are few places better to be a vegetarian than in the UK

I was the same with my three (so no, it wasn’t luck).

Just mashed up whatever we were having in a little handheld chopper. I remember making a curry once and thinking it might be a bit spicy but they just ate it. I also remember looking at some mushed up aubergine and thinking it looked awful, but funnily enough, they didn’t know.

Oh, and one is AuDHD by the way, so I think this approach also works with neurodivergent kids.

Now they’re teens and each has a couple of things they don’t like, which I respect, but generally they just pick the bits they don’t like out or I don’t serve them on their plate.

They know not to make a fuss.

Read ‘French Kids Don’t Throw Food’.

It’s absolutely the way British people raise their kids.

See also: sleep.

ah the bloody French going on about how superior they are when it comes to …just about everything! Apparently, they don’t get fat, and always look chic. Go half an hour out of Paris and it’s full of the same mere mortals who stalk our high streets.

I think though there is an element of it being food culture - exposed to different types of food and kids getting what their parents are eating. Eating together later as a family probably helps, and it’s not something we do as much in the UK.

but I’ve seen such differences even among siblings that I can’t imagine that’s the only reason. I have an ND child and there’s no way I could make them eat certain foods ( and I have tried)

I think this is yet another example of smug parenting where people like to make out it’s been their superior parenting skills and not dumb luck.

I know but you can choose which meal you want, rather than having to create something out of left over stuff in the fridge!

nothing fussy about hello fresh meals!! lots of unusual ingredients -spices etc. Fresh veg etc.

There are no fussy children, only fussy parents.