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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To tell my toddler DD fish is chicken?

146 replies

SalemSaberhagen · 26/06/2016 20:55

DD is 21 months old and horribly picky. She will only eat bananas, chicken, pasta, ham chips and bread. Yesterday I made myself some fish and asked if she wanted any. She proclaimed it to be 'yuck, disgusting' and refused to try it. I broke off a few bits and put it on her plate and asked her if she wanted some 'chicken'. She ate it with gusto! I was so pleased.

I posted a light hearted thread about it on a Facebook group (yeah, I know) to say how pleased I was.

In amongst people sharing their own stories, I've been told that I don't respect my DD and I'm undermining her trust. I was asked how she will feel when she finds out.

Was I doing something bad by letting her think it was chicken?! I was just happy she was eating something else to be honest!

OP posts:
BarmySmarmy · 26/06/2016 22:24

DS would not drink water.

I served fridge cold water as Mountain Squash.

KanyesVest · 26/06/2016 22:30

I was very noble and I called everything by its proper name. DD, now 6, was the one to call everything chicken. She told me this evening she had "lamb chicken" for dinner at her Nana's. Last week she didn't like "this chicken" which was mince. All fish is salmon though.

sparechange · 26/06/2016 22:31

My god son will only eat chicken.
He has been fed and eaten lamb, beef and pork when sold to him as chicken and he loved it all!

My brother, now 32, hated peas as a child. But loved 'garden sweets'
At his wedding, they had 'garden sweets' on the menu as an I joke. He isn't scarred or untrusting.

ElleBellyBeeblebrox · 26/06/2016 22:38

All meat is chicken in this house.
Chewy vitamins are sweets.
Courgettes=cucumber
Chick peas are round beans.
If they're eating it who cares!

Canyouforgiveher · 26/06/2016 22:42

I told my dd that the calamari we were sharing were onion strings. And agreed with her that it was quite funny how some of them looked like baby octopus. (she was older than 7). I told her after dinner.

BrickInTheWall · 26/06/2016 22:59

We never ate Duck we had Dutch Chicken!Grin

VimFuego101 · 26/06/2016 23:05

Mountain squash Grin

glasgowlass · 26/06/2016 23:10

DS1 ate chicken fish fingers for years even he stated he hated fish. When he found out he just shrugged his shoulders. Now he will always choose fish to eat if possible.

My 39 year old brother still has to be told he's getting goulash stew for him to eat it. Even his children know that my parents passed that gem to SIL.

Doublejeopardy · 26/06/2016 23:12

My DB ate wolf sausages for years.

Pinkheart5915 · 26/06/2016 23:16

Undermining her trust bloody rubbish.
Your getting your dd to eat new things she wouldn't try if you didn't tell white lies. Children need to explore new foods.

Naoko · 26/06/2016 23:32

It's not wrong but it might backfire! My parents told me one time that what my granny served at Christmas was chicken, because I was a tricky eater when I was small and they couldn't be arsed with the fuss they thought would ensue if I had to try turkey, which I'd never had before. Didn't work out - I insisted all the way through the meal that there had to be something wrong with the chicken because it tasted funny, were they sure it wasn't off, it was really weird chicken.... :o

nooka · 26/06/2016 23:41

I suspect it depends on the child as to whether this approach works or not. With my dd I suspect it would have just led to her rejecting chicken as she certainly could taste the difference between things. No putting unexpected things into sauces etc worked for her food had to be very plain and very predictable otherwise she just wouldn't eat. Her brother on the other hand ate pretty much anything offered.

She chose cooking as an option last year (she is now palate an adventurous eater and a great cook.) and they did taste testing and she is a super taster. I think that when she was small all the strong tastes really did frighten her a bit.

NarkyKnockers · 27/06/2016 00:12

I also think it could backfire and would be wary of using the tactic regularly with a picky eater. If she'd have not liked the taste it may have put her off having actual chicken again.

Perpetualstateofchaos · 27/06/2016 00:14

Ds (4) has space chicken so he eats tuna thanks to ds1's quick thinking. Gammon and pork are both extra special bacon.

sashh · 27/06/2016 07:50

I think it's fine of course. But I am surprised at the number of people who use this strategy. Surely the children can taste the difference and what they like/dislike is mostly based on taste..or texture..no?

My brother was the fussiest eater ever, he didn't like potatoes, he had a ham sandwich when we had a roast dinner because there was nothing he liked in a roast dinner.

Until we went on holiday to France, where he would eat anything, order things from the menu he had no idea what it was and always eat it.

Strange that, his taste buds must have changed half way across the channel.

Sallystyle · 27/06/2016 07:54

Every meat used to be chicken here too.

And all veg were carrots, just different coloured.

I didn't have to lie for long.

Sallystyle · 27/06/2016 07:58

MIL and FIL told DH when he was 8 years old that the frog legs he was about to eat was rabbit.

He was obsessed with frogs at that age, he loved them and when they went to France he said he wouldn't try them and the thought made him sick. He was truly frog obsessed.

They lied to him and after he ate them they told him the truth and he was devastated. I don't think he has forgiven them yet!

allowlsthinkalot · 27/06/2016 08:08

It's not something I'd do but I think your dd will survive!

I chose to be vegetarian at 7. My mum fed me a lot of "soya meat". I still feel betrayed and angry and am still vegetarian. Is that the same?

ExtraHotLatteToGo · 27/06/2016 08:08

That's really horrible U2 🙁

But a million miles away from what the op is doing.

Op. She's tiny, whatever works!

Vanillaradio · 27/06/2016 08:50

Lol, any meat or fish 2 year old ds likes is chicken. He had "chicken sausages" yesterday. I just agree with him. Yanbu!

Trooperslane · 27/06/2016 08:58

Twats.

We are the other way round.

Everything is special fish chicken

wornoutboots · 27/06/2016 09:40

when I was a kid I hated the taste of rabbit. my mother told me it was chicken every time. I knew damn well it was rabbit, because I like chicken and hate rabbit!

FeelingSmurfy · 27/06/2016 10:55

allow totally different, and totally wrong!

DailyFaily I eat pizza but not cheese sandwiches, I cant stand the texture of unmelted cheese. I can eat cold pizza, the cheese just has to be melted. I'm not a fussy eater at all BTW, that is the only thing I can eat one way but not another. Very few foods I won't eat but I am vegetarian so no meat or fish

scarednoob · 27/06/2016 10:58

My friend has a "magic spell" that transforms anything her children are eating into whatever they want, eg broccoli into toffee. I watched them fall for this and scoff their veggies and fish, and am determined to implement it at the first sign it is needed (9 month old DD is a greedy little bugger who scarfs down anything but who knows how she will be as a toddler!).

So nope, YaNbU and your friends are being daft!

ProjectUniverse · 27/06/2016 11:01

DH doesn't like beef casserole. But if I chuck some puff pastry on top he does like it as steak pie Grin

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