Oh, he/she'll eat anything

[Enb76]

Bit of a rant cos I have had a shitty day. When asked what my child eats I say "everything except courgettes, cucumber and melon". I am quite specific. When I ask, I get, "oh, they eat everything". I do my shopping safe in the knowledge that they'll eat everything, or at least give stuff a go.

I don't cook 'kid' food, no nuggets for example, no fish fingers, no baked beans. Mostly this is because I am a single parent and eat when my child does so we eat food that I like. That said, when other peoples' children come over, I play it safe, no lamb shanks, no Thai-style salmon parcels, no curry but I thought I'd be safe today with prawn stir-fry to discover that actually, the child who eats everything, doesn't eat noodles, doesn't eat peppers, doesn't eat prawns, doesn't like onions.

I'd like to think that I would say 'she's not particularly adventurous yet, she'll be happy with...' if my child had a limited palate and someone specifically asked what they ate.

Am I being unreasonable to expect people to actually tell me their child's preferences if I ask?

It's really difficult when you do have a picky child though. DD is bloody awkward picky and used to get very stressed about the meals at her friends homes.

Eventually I would say to the parents that they should cook whatever their child liked, and that DD probably wouldn't eat much, but not to worry because I would feed her when she got home if she was hungry. It also took the pressure off DD.

I still don't know what happened to her. At 15 months she would eat literally everything. Not anymore.

Prawns are something lots of people are fussy about. But I would've expected them to eat the noodles and at least try the veggies. Especially if told beforehand you couldve done a portion without prawns fairly easily.

Yes to PP suggestion of giving a specific meal and asking if dc loves it, is ok with it, hates it, not had it but will try it etc

Love the PP child whose grandparents had him try oysters at 6!

Prawn stir fry isn't something I would expect to be served at a play date to be honest. I'm 30 and don't eat prawns. My dd will often eat something for me but not like the way someone else cooks it.

OP, think about what you're saying for a minute.

The child is 7 years old and there will probably be tons of foods they haven't actually tried yet.

So 'they eat everything' was obviously what the parent said to the best of their ability.

When you say, "everything except courgettes, cucumber and melon", you haven't included caviar, white truffle or saffron.

Or are you confident your child will eat those too?

I have a child who has a very limited diet. When he goes to another house I always, always say "don't cook specially for him'. I always say "don't worry if he doesn't eat, he'll make it up when he gets home". I always say "cook what you would normally have and do not worry about him".

People then get concerned because he hasn't eaten anything - even though I have specifically told them not to worry, he will be absolutely fine; or they try to find something he'll like which he won't eat because he almost never eats at other people's houses, and then they're upset because he hasn't eaten.

Which just goes to show that you can't win.

I would probably say my boys would eat anything but ds2 would definitely not eat a prawn stir fry. Tbh, I hate prawns so such a meal wouldn't be on my radar. I wouldn't imagine it being served at all. If asked whether there were any foods they didn't like, prawns wouldn't even enter my head.

I would say 'my kids eat anything' too but I mean 'my kids would eat anything you would normally expect a 6 yr old to be served at a play date'.
So prawn stirfry wouldn't count. You do t have to serve processes crap. Just simple pasta with veg etc. that's normal.

Yes, there will be tons of food they haven't tried yet.

Sent my DS when 6 to someone's house, said he eats anything, they fed him sushi and henceforth I had to say: "he eats anything but sushi"

I had "will eat everything" child guests who won't touch noodles, chicken, couscous or beans. I now tend to say "I am making ... will they eat that?" and if parent or child confirm that they will I don't feel guilty about not offering an alternative.

Prawn stir fry is going to be hit or miss with most adults let alone a 7yo.

I expect when she said they'll eat anything, they were thinking of more kid friendly meals like lasagne, spag Bol, pizza, fish fingers etc.

I wouldn't expect anyone to serve prawn stir fry on a play date tbh, so it wouldn't cross my mind to mention that dd doesn't eat prawns or peppers. To me, playdate food is pasta, pizza, fish fingers and peas and the like at that age.

It's a really hard question to answer without sounding like you're dictating what you want the other parent to cook though. The last time I was asked "what does he eat" (by text) my reply was "most things... Chicken, mince, pasta, potatoes, rice, white fish, no peas" he actually eats loads more and dislikes other stuff, but I felt like I was writing an essay! (He got spaghetti Bol )

I think my Ds will eat anything but salad and mushrooms however.. there are probably many foods he hasn't tried as we don't tend to buy them.. I am aware he has never tried brown sauce.. Proably many other things I don't like

To me, playdate food is pasta, pizza, fish fingers and peas and the like at that age.

but the child is 7 years old, not a toddler. Don't kids eat the same than adults by then (minus alcohol and salt obviously)?

On play dates I tend to say I will be cooking x for dinner, is that ok? I have a child who will give anything a go but his friends eat quite a limited diet so stick to food like pizza, pasta and pesto, sausages type meals on those days.

That's not a very 'safe' option for a playdate. I stick to jacket spuds with cheese and beans or a pasta bake.

my DC will eat all the food mentioned on this list and more (yes to saffron, sushi, truffles and oysters), but for playdates I only ever cook pizza, fishfingers or sausage and mash - whichever the mum tells me is ok

some DC are freaked out by new food, or eating with new people, or won't eat a food they do like if it's on the same plate as one they don't, so I play very, very safe. my DC have a varied diet the rest of the time so serving up a supermarket pizza once in a while is no biggie.

My son is only two but there is nothing in particular he doesn't like. Nothing he consistently rejects.

But. That doesn't mean he will always eat all his food. Often he just doesn't want it. Maybe he's not hungry. I don't know.

My parents are looking after him on Saturday and asked when he doesn't like and I did have to say there's nothing he specifically dislikes.

I think you are a bit like me OP. My child eats most things, eats what I eat with very few exceptions.

I do eat baked beans and fish fingers and don't consider them to be kid's foods at all, that said I hate the concept of children having a different menu.

As a child I wouldn't dare leave so much as a morsel on my plate if I was a guest.

I do eat baked beans and fish fingers and don't consider them to be kid's foods at all

My Ds was at a party this afternoon so didn't bother with my usual Sunday dinner instead I made myself a fishfinger sandwich

Agree that prawn stir fry isn't a 'safe' option - it's not something I would want to be served to me without warning. And it depends what the parents think of as 'normal' food. If you asked me if DD liked cheese I would say yes to most people, because she likes cheddar, but I know that in a relative's house they would serve her Brie and I'm not sure how she would react that that. I also agree with things tasting different depending on who makes it.

my eldest will literally eat everything even sprouts i used to send her on playdates saying she isn't mad keen on peas but every other veg on the planet is fine they thought i was lying so tried her on veg she ate it all

child number two its either spicy food or pasta i tend to say bangers and mash is a good choice for him

child number three its pasta pasta pasta im really hoping to improve his choices but he is only two so there is time!

i agree prawns possible arnt the best choice for an unknown child i would tend to go for a jacket potato or PASTA!

I usually state the menu: "we'll do pizza with X or Y topping - would DC like that? Or would they prefer honey and soya sauce chicken drumsticks served with jasmine rice?"

Saves trouble.

I had a playdate mum tell me her DD 'ate anything'. Only for me to find out later (from the mum: conversation after the fact) that the child was dairy intolerant

Pasta, pizza, peas, even baked beans and dare I say it fishfingers are just food that are also enjoyed by adults. Even ones that dont have that limited palate disease thing. I think what people are saying is that they go for the ultra safe options, not some special kid food.

My kids have always eaten what we do, at home we go for the odd new thing and a range of things that are safe for us. But thats it safe for our family, my kids are used to my love afair with lentils and anything citrus. Give them lime and ginger in a stir fry and they're happy, prawns would be a diffeent matter.

When mine were little I would ask does your child like tomato pasta? Then serve it with bread on the table, veg, or salad bits served not touching the sauce. Much easier that way. I also don't get stressed if they don eat as it can be daunting eating at friends houses when they're younger.

I do the same with visiting teenagers, check up front that they have no serious aversion to stir fry or curry, or stew. Then put loys of different bits out and they can help themselves. If they want a bowl of rice and a tiny bit of creamy curry fine. If they want my lentil dahl, hot curry, no rice, extra chilli sauce with lime wedge that is fi e too.