"Kids food" or just family meals?

[NoblyBobly]

I was brought up eating the same as my parents, although mum did make some adjustments for things me and my brother didn't like. I have done the same with my kids and adapt to suit. Eg a milder curry, blending a sauce to hide the onions.
One of my dc has autism and severe learning difficulties and it has been challenging to deal with their very limited diet but after 16 years I can now serve up meals that everyone will eat. There was a time when autistic dc would only eat bananas, bread, dry cereal, plain pasta. I remember being so excited the day they ate a sandwich for the first time!!!
Many of dc friends are served different food to their parents, we went out to friends once and there was a fabulous buffet laid out but the kids were given a selection of nuggets, chips and were not offered the buffet food which was fresh salads and grilled meats.
At what age do people switch to family meals and stop doing different for their kids?

Mine always had what we had.
Thankfully they were never fussy eaters so we didn’t fall into the beige freezer food trap.

My kids are little, but they always eat the same as us.

It's a bit of both here. Some of what we have he likes, some he won't touch but it's not that hard to do separate as you obviously know😊

I feed him what he'll eat. Some of that is the same as us. Some of it isn't. He's 2 and a half and his dinner is at 4/4:30 and we often don't want to eat at that time. So sometimes it's just fish fingers and beans, pesto pasta, soup and a toastie or just a bowl of porridge with fruit.

I refuse to be bothered about it as long as he has a varied diet across the weeks and months, and that he is being offered lots of food to try. He's healthy and happy.

My DC have never touched salad!

I always find it amusing that crudités seem to be the suggestion of choice for kids. Not mine! A tomato, piece of cucumber or pepper will never make their way past their lips.

I also have autistic children but cook the same meals for dinner. I adjust it so they’ll eat it, less spice for example. Lunch they eat whatever they want. One might have a sandwich, one will have something else but so will I so it’s not an issue.

We've never done separate meals. Always just fed the dc the same as us.

We do, however, freeze extra portions of spagbol/casserole/curry or whatever that are just big enough for the 3 dc...which we'd then refer to as 'kids meals'. For the times when dh and I want a sneaky takeaway 😆

We also have some beige frozen stuff in the freezer...but it's just family food. If I'm in the right mood then I'm as partial to a chicken dipper as the kids, so we'd all eat beige if that's what's on the menu that day.

I've never done separate meals. The only exception is spaghetti with clams which dd hates so I do her a different sauce.

Similar to you. I always serve everyone the same wherever possible but have no issue making little adjustments to accommodate preferences. DS can be fussy but I still put things he probably won't eat on his plate, otherwise he never will.

We've always tended to eat the same - and some nights that might be fish fingers, beans and chips for all.
DS1 actively requested food off the adults menu from about 4 - as in he wanted to avoid the nuggets and chips dishes.
DS2 probably waited til he was nearer 10.

I'd say do whatever suits your family.

My kids eat the same as us and always have. They love all sorts but wont eat fish (despite loving fish pie when weaning). Same as me.

We have beige food once a week for timing reasons.

Im asd as is one kid. We work around it eg gravy in a separate bowl.

I imagine we’ll switch to eating the same thing once DS is older and eating later. We only eat together on a Sunday (it’s impossible in the week due to work) and on that day we all eat the same thing.

The same but tweaked is what I grew up with and it’s worked for me. Sometimes you go backwards. There are plenty of children who’ll eat something as toddlers, refuse it by the time they hit 4/5 and eat it again when they hit 12/13. Sometimes you get a great leap forward and you end up wishing they’d never tried bloody sushi because it was a lot easier to chuck some fish fingers in the oven for them while everyone else ate baked salmon and now you have a cupboard full of tamari sauce and pickled ginger.

@KeepingItUnderTheRadar i miss the days of the sneaky takeaway 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣 ours are 17,15&9 now and there’s no missing them out on a takeaway, it costs a fortune 😭🤣 rare treat now.

We've always given the children whatever we're eating.

But I'd cut the hosts with the buffet some slack - they might have been worried that if they hadn't provided "kids' food" there'd be a parent complaining about it.

I cook the same meal for everyone but there are some foods DC won't have (e.g. mussels) and that I don't cook as a result (unless on our own) so in a sense our diet is more restricted as a result.

We serve DC what we're eating, but modified for example we portioned their curry out before we added extra spice.

If there's a food someone in the family hates then it's either not used, or on those situations someone might've have something slightly different like a different jacket potato filling. We never tended to make separate children's meals.

I do a mix of both to be honest, because sometimes I want what would be called a "kids tea" like fish fingers waffles and beans

I think balance is important so they eat a lot of home made stuff but also sometimes McDonald's etc.

I cook the same dinner for us all each night and I eat with them so that makes it easier. It is annoying how kids’ menus are generally full of the same stuff: chicken nuggets/burgers etc. Although we rarely eat out.

On the odd occasion we get a takeaway we have it after they’ve gone to bed so they get a separate meal then.

Not an age where we changed - my dc have always been served what we are having.

Not got time to read the full thread at the moment but I bet by the time I get back to it later it will be full of stories abouth the mythical MN children who don't like nuggets and chips and are aghast when they see children's menus and demand half portions frm adult menus 😉

Generally family meals.

However when eating out, DD1 will often be eating nuggets and chips... because they are safe and consistent. They don't come with a sauce thats not listed on the menu, or be cooked in a different way. They are just nuggets

Recently shes started trying other stuff. I'm pretty sure as an adult she will manage fine. (She's nearly 13 now)

Always the same meal for everyone. Tend to do meals which everyone can tailor / chose what they want - like tacos, jacket pots etc. kids food on most menus is appalling usually.

He has whatever I had the night before, we don't eat at the same time because I need to concentrate fully on feeding him (tube fed) then I will eat once he's in bed for the night.

@daisydalrymple mine are similar ages 😂16, 14 and 6.

We still manage an odd sneaky takeaway but it has to be a lot sneakier/later than it used to be 😂😂

Mine always ate the same as me, except I would leave out or substitute particularly disliked vegetables.