If one of your children was a fussy eater and is now grown up…..

[PenelopeSkye]

…or indeed, if you were a fussy eater as a child, would you be able to share how things panned out? Was there anything that helped or didn’t help?

I have been struggling for about 5 years now with DD, who is now 8. Sometimes I think- just stick with the no pressure, offering different things etc and she’ll get there- but at other times I think- she is missing out on so much good nutrition, I need to do more! But then, I really don’t know what, as if I did I do it!! She has 2 younger siblings who eat a good variety of food, and as a family we eat healthily overall (with treats thrown in), and I don’t make a big deal of her eating. But she’s just dropped another ‘safe’ food and I’m wondering if I should maybe seek some professional help. Any thoughts much appreciated!

@Yellowstonemaddnesa Unfortunately, I can't do much as I live 100 miles away and rarely get to see my niece and nephew. I am hoping that the teenage sibling, grandparents and great-grandparents (who see them frequently) kindly corrupt the children's eating in the best possible way. Mind you, after a tiny bit (i.e. less than a teaspoonful) of sticky toffee pudding, the youngest didn't sleep for 24 hours due to the sugar rush...

I know that they don't get to eat selection boxes that they're given at Christmas, but it would be interesting to see where the chocolate ends up...

I was a very fussy eater as a child and still am now in my mid 50s. I think I probably do have ARFID, although that term is a fairly recent one, I think, and not heard of when I was a kid.
I will only eat very plain food. I have absolutely no desire to - in fact an aversion to - even trying anything else other than my very limited diet.
My parents were meat and two veg types who only ate traditional British food, but my diet was far more limited than theirs was. They tried to hide veg in potatoes but I could always taste it.
My older sisters were more adventurous and experimented with Chinese and Indian food as teenagers, and now eat most things.
I have no sense of smell whatsoever now thanks to a brain tumour a few years ago but for me it’s very much a sensory thing. A plate of spaghetti looks like worms, curry looks like vomit, I can’t stand the thought of salad cream, sauce, mayonnaise etc not only on my food but touching my hands.
I hate the taste of alcohol - all alcohol.
Possibly having school dinners might have helped, but I went to my grandmother’s (also a plain cook) for lunch at primary school and took a packed lunch to secondary. Maybe school dinners wouldn’t have helped at all and I’d have just gone hungry as I was very stubborn about not trying new things.
I do kind of wish I was more adventurous but at the same time have no desire to try something outside my comfort zone. I’m overweight rather than underweight (I do have a sweet tooth) but mounjaro is helping with that. I’ve been a slow but steady loser probably because of my aversion to fruit and veg, so haven’t had the fast, huge losses others have, so I’m happy with my progress.
This is me and my eating peculiarities don’t bother me hugely, nor what other people think.
I have two adopted dds who I had when they were nearly five and nearly eight so they already ate a wide variety of food and luckily have continued to do so.

I was a very fussy eater as a child/teen due to undiagnosed ND and emetophobia. During the worst phases I would live off apples, bananas, crisps, chocolate and white bread. Also hated salad and vegetables, and ate no raw greens until my mid 20s. The turning point was mostly due to a health scare where I had potentially serious autoimmune condition. I realised I had to turn things around and made a conscious decision to eat healthy and learn to like "normal", nutritious food.

Since then my diet is perfectly healthy, manage to get 5 a day for most days and enjoy almost every type of cuisine. Love cooking and have a well stocked kitchen. Also have no problems with restaurants or catered food at events. The only thing that I still can't bring myself to eat is seafood like clams, oysters, octopus, mussels and raw fish. I'm fine with cooked fish, shrimp and lobster although those foods aren't top of my list. In the bigger picture, not eating shellfish isn't a huge deal and I've never had a situation where I felt awkward at declining or not eating it. Seafood seems a pretty common aversion so nobody bats an eye if you say you're not a fan.