Liking olives is NOT a milestone

[MizLizLemon]

Maybe it's just because I live in a naice area, but one of the most frequent boasts I hear, alongside the usual ones about reading levels and musical/sporting abilities, is that someone's DD or DS loves olives, which I frankly find really odd (not the child liking olives, but that it's considered something to boast about). Liking olives isn't a milestone, is it? I'm quite bed at middle class parenting, I'd never even heard of NCT until after I'd given birth, but the olives thing really puzzles me.

(Full disclosure, my DD hates olives and thinks they're the work of the devil).

It's like that round here too. So boring listening to it. DC eat a range of foods; healthy, nutritious, sometimes not so healthy, sometimes burgers. This to me is normal. I know others disagree, but we generally love our food and enjoy life ;)
Going around telling everyone that your 3 year old likes olives is really quite sad and smacks of insecurity.

Olives ARE the work of the devil.

In fact they are the devils nuts

Your daughter has good taste op.

I think olives are like caviar. No one actually likes it (apart from a few weirdos ) but it sophisticated to like em don't ya know.

Heidi noooooooo!

Roast dinners must be eaten every Sunday!

On the other hand so must chocolate and a Victoria sponge so I'm hardly a saint

heidi how mad is that mine like some of a roast but not all of it as long as its healthy and edible its fine surely

I've heard this one as well. Also heard the "which meat from the chicken do your DC want, X (their DC) prefers the dark meat". Its OK, mine can't tell the difference.

• I admit my DC aren't too fond of potatoes but I just keep serving them regularly and if they don't eat them that's their problem. I had the same issue with broccoli but after 18 months of offering it daily, they now they love it and usually eat it first.

DS1 (6) loves olives and has done since he was about 18mo. And smoked salmon, capers and tartare sauce. He even likes sucking lemons. He likes Boursin garlic cheese - he obviously likes strong salty flavours! (Oh and he likes crisps too ) But he doesn't like blue cheese.
DS2 (20mo) otoh, doesn't like olives, capers, tartare sauce or smoked salmon. He does, fortunately for us, like Boursin (our picnic staple is Boursin on rice crackers, usually with smoked salmon on top except DS2 won't eat that).

We're not posh at all - we just like smoked salmon and Boursin on rice crackers and it's quite easy to transport piecemeal and then make up when we get to out picnic spot (about 4 times a year).

I don't expect DS2 to suddenly change his mind and like the salty things - like I've given up expecting DS1 to change his mind about liking cooked mushrooms (he doesn't) - but it would be nice if he did, then our homemade pizzas won't need to be adapted for him (he's not going to like anchovies either, is he...)

I thought all children liked olives because they are packed with salt.

I sometimes mention that 18 month old ds loves olives (and goats cheese, smoked salmon, pickled herring, caviar, pate, blue cheese, and lots ofother strong tasting food) because people often comment on the lunch I give him, if I could get away with an ellas pouch I would! Ds outright refuses to eat bland food, he will not eat potatos ( not even chips) unless they are cooked in a spicy sauce, he has never ever eaten any sort of porridge despite me trying lots of different sorts, making it with breastmilk, mixing in fruit.

If I could swap his adventurous demanding tastes for a child who'd be happy with some chicken nuggets and chips occasionally I would.

My DD loves olives. So do I. We get a massive jar for about 1.59 from Lidls. Are we posh then?

See, they're not little adults, they're kids, eating food that is perfectly normal elsewhere. In Spain and Greece everyone eats olives, they grow there, they're not middle class, but as I said, neither is mash. It's all so silly. So your children eat olives, big deal, so do mine. I do know they are still relatively new here and that they were expensive when they became more accessible here, but still find it odd. When I was young (back in the sixties) I would have friends queueing to come for tea to eat our 'funny' food. That really was how it was considered. We used to have to take two buses to Shepherds Bush market to get peppers, aubergine, olive oil, olives if we were lucky. Anyone going to Gibraltar or Spain was handed a shopping list that began with Saffron, anything else was a bonus. Strangely, the only thing that hasn't changed is we still hand out shopping lists and they still have Saffron on them - it's far, far cheaper in Spain!

are olives 'fancy' food then? Here they are just food - 2 eat them, one doesn't - they are in the fridge and there to be ate

DD1 drinks the 'juice' though - she is evil

Well I live in a very naice area and was astounded last night when my cm told me ds (3) had eaten all his mash. Perhaps we should move to Spain?

I love green olives and hate black ones what does that say about me!

Much to my husband's delight, I hate olives. So he gets to eat all of mine.

I tried olives once, based on how often people on here talk about them. They were marketed to me as being tiny round bits of heaven.

My sister tried to warn me. She described them as "mini testicles boiled in salt water mixed with pig shit then left to soak for a week under the armpit of a fat bloke in a sauna."

after tasting one - I have to say that given the choice - I'd eat the testicles.

I was forty before I ever liked an olive!
I knew I hated the black ones as I once got one in my mouth by accident, when I thought it was a grape and it took several years after that before I tried a green one and started to acquire a taste for them.

I hqave been known to boast about my dog liking olives.

You are totally correct - I went to a Pizza restaurant for a birthday party last week and one mum made such a huuuuge deal of ordering extra olives on her kids pizza "she LOVES them" the mum was to be heard telling anyone and everyone who'd listen, and you could tell that it was a stamp of sophistication in her mind.

My 8 month old had an olive and houmous for dinner.
In my shoddy defence, we've been away and it was all we had in the fridge.

I hate black olives, but I love green ones with lemon and chilli in.

higgle My dog will eat anything and I mean, anything except olives. He even eats paper FFS. Yet, I present him with an olive and he looks at me like this -->

I love love love this thread op

So, so true. I couldn't give a flying shit if your child eats artichokes, olives, sea bass. It doesn't make them a better person.

I'm 55 and I still think olives are vile.

Rach: I only like the green olives too. The black ones are horrible.

I only discovered I liked green olives at 33. I'd always assumed they'd be more disgusting than the black ones. Turns out I was so very wrong.

As it happens my dd loves them. A lot of kids seem to - maybe it is the salt as someone said.

But no it's not a milestone and not significant either.

However it is a good thing if they will try different things, and obviously the more things they like the better.

I suppose they're pleased because they feel that if their children eat olives, they'll eat anything. They could be right....