To tell my toddler DD fish is chicken?

[SalemSaberhagen]

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!

Breaking trust yuck bet they tell small children santa is a lie too carry on feeding her chicken everything and maybe leave the facebook group

Dh doesnt like stew either but scoffs steak pie 😕

Yesterday i made a stir fry with turkey fillet strips.
DS 3.5 asked what it was,
"stir fry " got a NO,
"noodles " got a NO
"spaghetti with chicken " was a success!!
(Even though he left the veg)

My son wouldn't drink milk but he drank "White Juice" all the time!

We had chicken for most meals as kids. I should have questionned why all 4 of us had a leg sometimes..

A kid I used to baby sit for refused water.
But drank gallons of lions juice.

My ds wouldn't try a parsnip. Ate loads of white carrots...

I think if you just make up a plausible name, kids are more likely to try it.

Or putting the name of something they like with it. Dd has "Chicken fish fingers" as they have bread crumbs...
Even now, we have oblong apples for courgette.
No idea why ds started that one!

I would without a doubt tell her it's chicken if she eats it!
My 23 month old is getting more and more picky and I practically cartwheel every time he eats something new

all meat in this house was always chicken and ham was pink cheese

YANBU, DH & I used to tell DD2 that beef was black chicken and that the farmer had sent her some special veg that he had grown just for her and that she was the only person ever to have this particular veg! (it was only cauliflower and broccoli)
She ate it all and loves all of these foods to this day, although she knows now that the black chicken is actually beef.

If it helps them to eat or even try new foods then I don't see it as undermining a child's trust; what about Santa & the tooth fairy and any other mythical things/beings we tell our children in their childhood, is that undermining their trust? I know I never felt angry at my parents re Santa etc.

I used to get given spicy mince aka haggis, yellow potato aka turnip, rabbit was chicken...I still don't eat any of them, but don't blame my mum for trying, we still find it funny

I think its absolutely fine. They are getting a varied diet, and that's what is important.

To the naysayers I give you this: (Erm..its a chicken cake. Yes, that's right...a chicken cake)

Iggy

Thank you everyone for the new ideas too!

Loving this thread! My nephew went through a stage of only liking peas, and so everything became a pea - Brussels sprouts, cabbage, grapes, apples, etc...

He now eats all kinds of fruit and veg without question :)

My DD eats all kinds of things she has no idea what they are. If I said "This is beef pie" she wouldn;t eat it so I say "This is meat pie".

I would totally do this If they really didn't like it then they would still not eat it after it's been called chicken! Kids can be fussy if the name even sounds dodgy!

Also amazed at your 21months vocab!

Her vocab is off the scale good! (Not even a stealth boast, just a boast )

Not so good when I want 5 minutes peace - she does not shut up!

Ds just ate "cottage pie" as he decided on the way home from school he doesn't like pasta bake any more. He wants it again tomorrow.

It wasn't until my son was 4 thst he realised everyone else's juice was different to his (his was water!). He still prefers water at the age if 14

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?

LOL me too! I became vegetarian at 4, or so I thought. I discovered my mother's deception about 10, so that is when I became a true vegetarian!

DS hates veggie chilli (made with among other things diced aubergine, courgette and peppers) which we eat with rice and a blob of sour cream on the side and a sprinkling of cheese.
However he loves "Mexican rice". The very same chilli but pre mixed up with rice then smothered with sour cream and cheese....

He also ate pink chicken for a long time but now knows it's salmon, still eats it and doesn't hate me

My 3 year old often eats "superhero soup". He thinks if he eats enough of it one day he might get special powers. He wouldn't touch it before we started calling it that. His diet is so limited I do what I can to get some goodness in him and I do so entirely without guilt.

I still do this with my 6 year old.

He loves "chicken and rice with sauce", and asks for it regularly, if I say chicken curry, chicken korma etc. he'd refuse to go near it I made tarka dal a few days ago, I told him what it was whilst cooking and I immediately got a "I want something else".. served him "indian food" instead