or are other peoples' children really fussy?

[BlackBag]

Today I had a lovely, polite friend (6 years old) of DD (who's 5), round for a play, snack and lunch.

Turns out she does n't like apples, bananas or satsumas only nectarines and plums.

She does n't like water.

She got a mud splash on leg so the garden explore had to finish straight away for thorough cleaning of muddy knee and welly.

She ate only a small piece of ham and lots of all day.

She is very caring regarding my younger DD and kept calling for me and asking me to wipe little ones snot encrusted face, a battle which can be fought and generally lost every 3 minutes.

My own mostly snot free face has run through then at hearing them all laugh but also and at food & dirt stuff. I'm exhausted at the responsibility of it all. Please tell me it gets easier and my kids don't do that in your house.

Other people's children are generally weird, it's true. Weird and not as nice.

Your visitor sounds like my DD. She's a fussy bugger too I offer her a banana and she asks for a peach. She doesn't like a spot of water on her clothes. Etc.

Ignore her, I try to

I find my kids weird and irritating and I love them, can't imagine how annoying other people must find them. Ds won't eat any fruit at all, freaks at muckiness in himself and others and has about a zillion other eccentricities. DD less weird but bloody whingy. :)

My children eat most things but will not eat fruit unless apples (ds1) or British grown berries (Ds2)

And they wouldn't notice your little one's snot encrusted face, they'd be too busy trying to think up ways to get savoury snacks out of you.

I'm always mystified by the boy who's the oldest of four (youngest is three), who barely eats a thing at my house, including ice cream if it's 'only vanilla' .

How on earth does his mum find the time or the inclination to pander to him? (And she clearly does - he exudes a sense of little-princedom.)

some kids are just generally fussy, very easy to think they're pandered to!

ds(17) doesn't like ice cream either. shocking

She sounds like one of my dds friends. She is 13 now and still the same and now a bit of a drama queen. She nearly ruined dds party this year with her fussiness and not wanting to get wet. I t was a raft building party and she was warned. She doesn't like hardly any food.

agred with hassled i hate am not keen on other peoples kids :o

rofl @ shoppingbags - that's how I feel about mine on many days and they're lovely (on the whole)

We have often had other "fussier" children round, (not liking water to drink etc) and not quite sure I do the right thing, I often am a bit mean and just say things like "that's all we have" (also actually true) and they either cave in or go without

My DD is alittle fussy, she wont have butter, has to have her socks rolled down properly and hates shoes that make her feet feel funny oh and only likes chocolate ice cream. Drives me nuts.

Always find others children can be fussier though.

I once had a kid who wouldn't cave and I didn't have much else (offered him everything I had - sandwiches, fruit, biscuits), and I wasn't prepared to drive out to McD's to get what I knew he'd eat.

He told DS he didn't like our house and didn't want to come back. No loss, really, but a bit sad for DS.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not very good at having other folks dcs round to play with the dds. I find the nose-turning at perfectly good snacks, lunches, lids etc disproportionately irritating and have developed a brutal take-it-or-leave-it attitude. I think sometimes I should be more indulgent but I just can't be bothered to pander. Dds friends must hate me

Lids? Should say puds!

dd1's friend so not much fussy as that she doesn't seem to know what food is outside of fish fingers and smiley faces and so refuses to try it i.e.

"Do you want garlic and rosemary roasties or plain?"
"What's rosemary?"
"A herb"
"What's a herb?"

"Are there chips in this stir fry?"
"No"
"Well what's this?"
"Yellow pepper"
"Oh I don't think I like that"

It must be the hormones or some weird smell because I really enjoy being with my own kids but other peoples well..

I have always made a point of telling nursery, teaching assistants, teachers, etc that I appreciate them and I could not do their job unless I could say:

'It won't kill you'
'That's all there is'
'Try again'
So far I have only thought not said about the starving children in Africa...

Nothing like having other people's children round to make you appreciate your own eh?

It gets better as they get older.

Or maybe the fussy ones fall by the wayside?

I had a little boy round once. He was 5. I served up home made oven chips and something else fairly normal.

He said 'I cant believe you are trying to fucking poison me with this shit!'

We walked him dragged his arse home and I informed his mother he would probably still be hungry.

Her look said it all really.

I dont get too fussed about what other kids eat at my house (barring the little darling just described). Its not my problem if they dont eat for a few hours.

I cant stand wimps though. Its just not a good thing to be in my house full of mad boys and nutty dogs.

I think all kids are a bit weird, but you get used to you own.

DD is very fussy. She's worse at other peoples houses because she knows she shouldn't be fussy, and she is really nervous about it all. She has her little stock of 'polite things to say about food' and is getting better at using them, but it is hard for her. Fortunately her friends have kind parents and she eats a seemingly endless diet of sausage and mash and pasta and plain sauce.

Actually, at home she eats things that other people would raise their eyebrows at, but they don;t tend to be served up at an after school tea party, and strangely enough it is the 'playing it safe' stuff that she is most fussy about

SchadenKinde - delight in the bad behaviour of other peoples DC

After a year of giving them things I knew they'd eat (mostly reasonably healthy, I feel compelled to add) while DP was working away from home during the week, and I couldn't be bothered to cook something else just for me, I have now taken to presenting them with complicated meals full of things that I have little hope of them even looking at. Tonight we had a broccoli and cheese pasta fandango and I waved two teeny slivers of raw courgette at them and dared them to try them. They almost ran from the room in terror.

I remember when they were weaning and would eat anything. Sigh.

I have given up trying to feed one of DS1s friends. She appears to like nothing. Although to be fair, I was probably that child when I was young.She is even fussy about cakes and biscuits. I once offered choc cip cookies or brownies, and she asked for nutella on bread. What kind of childdoesn't like cookies?

thefirstmrsDeVeerie at that child at your house. I think I would have taken him straight home too.

I can't get it right with ds1's (nearly 7) friends. I check with mums prior. but I've still had spag bol, sausages and mash, chips and fresh pasta refused.
Yet they have eaten roasts with red cabbage, roasted carrots with orange zest. and the hottest curry I have ever made.
All wolfed down.
Defies logic.