Were you a fussy eater as a child?

[WomenHour]

I wasn't but know others who were.

Yes, quite fussy.

I didn’t like much veg, other than carrots, peas and sweetcorn. I didnt like any fish or cheese. I was extremely fussy about meat.

My parents were really relaxed about it and accommodated me without any fuss.

In my teens, I slowly started to be less afraid of trying new things and as an adult I eat all veg other than mushrooms. I also discovered I like most cheese, just not goats cheese, and I now love fish and seafood. I’m still very fussy about meat, though.

One of my DC was extremely fussy as a child - much more so than I was, as his dislikes included not just food groups but textures, sauces, things with lumps in etc. I was also relaxed about it, and as a teen he has become much less fussy, too.

Yes. Very. I would eat the same food for dinner every night for weeks on end then switch to something else. Always something bland. Wouldn't eat loads of foods. My mum "pandered" to me, would cook fresh pancakes for dinner etc. Now I eat loads of different foods including loads of the ones I had written off. There's very few things I wont eat, aubergine being one, but mostly things that look unhygienic, like them street food videos you see on fb.

I'm glad my mum didn't pressure me and let me introduce myself to new foods.

@IgiveupallthenamesIwantedareg0

I believe that a lot of this "fussy eating" come from the culture of where , when, with whom is eaten. If the adults at the table have the same stuff on their plate and eat it, that is an example for the child. If a child is sat in a highstool or fed separtely from the adults how can she /he even begin to learn that what comes on the table is all there is.i. So many parents sit their kids away from them eating, make so many "kid firendly food" i understand that the kids get "fussy". a meal is a shared experience and everyone learns that this is what is on the table.

Not in my experience..

I grew up eating smaller portions of whatever the adults were eating, eating most meals at the same time as the adults (exceptions being when they were eating too late really).

I was weaned from breast milk onto small portions of suitable adult foods, blended or mushed up at first and then cut into small pieces later, but not baby-led weaning as you'd know it today, there was no spitting out, licking, touching etc permitted, if it went in your mouth it stayed there and you swallowed it. You touched it with cutlery only.

I personally blame that for some of my issues, but they were certainly NOT caused by anyone 'pandering' to anything!

@WiddlinDiddlin are you my sister I never knew about😂 Same was in my home.

My mother would say that I was, but I still maintain that she's just a terrible cook.

Very! I would have rather gone hungry than eat something I didn't like even if I just didn't like the look of it! I now eat almost everything!

Yes I was-not extremely, but didn't want to try the food that I never had before.
However that was because my mum. She wasn't big cooking fan, so the variety of meals I knew was limited and repetitive ( thanks to my grandma- she cooked), I wasn't overly picky.

As the years went by and I learned how to cook by self and slowly opened more and actually found joy in finding new flavours and recipes and enjoying cooking at the end.

Yes. Lived off plain rice and pasta with cheese. I do wish my parents pushed me a bit more but I was an only child and decided to be vegetarian and my meat loving parents cooked for me separately every night anyway so they just made the plain foods I asked for.

I’m veggie still but will try most things now. I’d still consider myself a bit fussy because I don’t enjoy a lot foods

Context is everything on these threads - would be much better if people could state (roughly) how old they are.

I am in my 50's, I am not a fussy eater. Being a child in the 60/70's meant there wasn't really much choice esp given my mother was a terrible cook. However I love love love food and I eat/will try pretty much everything as will my DC, we are very much 'try and see' family, although DH has a terrible palate.

I didn’t think of myself as fussy, but I wouldn’t eat any form of fish, milk apart from with cereal, tea, or baked beans. I went through a brief stage of refusing chicken because I had overheard my mum talking about having been served chicken that wasn’t cooked properly and had blood inside.My mum never made us eat anything we really didn’t like, and when the family had fish I usually had sausages or something. I now eat practically anything (love fish) although I still can’t stand tea.

No, being a fussy eater was a luxury my family could not afford.

There were no choices.
My mother was a shit cook and I was a poor eater, so a stick thin kid, malnourished and often ill.

Nope but my mum wouldn't have pandered much to it anyway & cooked v plain meat n 2 veg type meals. If u didn't like something long as you made bit of effort give it a try I don't rem any fuss on any of us. The only complaint I had by time I was a teen was the food was So bland at times. I worked w/e in a fancy restaurant by then n got to try spicy currys and different foods for first time which I loved. My kids are not what Id call fussy but not overly adventurous yet either. Fairly typical I'd say.

I was soooo fussy. Only ate butter on white bread with tomatoes for about 2 years between ages 5-7ish.

Continued to be fussy throughout childhood - wouldn't tolerate things like sushi (which I now love) or avocado (which I also now love) for example.

As someone whose father was a prisoner of war, being fussy was not allowed.

I was very fussy. Only ate white carbs and dairy - very bland stuff. Not sure I touched a fruit or vegetable before age 11. Even a simple tomato sauce was a no, any sauce even. I’m from a big family and no one else was like this. My parents just went with and I grew out of it in my teens somehow. Am in my 30’s now and vegetarian, but love all food and eat everything except meat. Looking back I’m glad my parents were so relaxed about it and it was such a non-issue for them. I was very sensitive as a child, forcing me to eat foods I didn’t like would have really affected me I think.

Yes, I was a child in the 80s and was seen as a fussy eater. It was mainly about texture and unfamiliarity for me. My parents didn’t make me ‘special food, they gave me what everyone else had, they just didn’t make a fuss if I didn’t eat it. I think their approach was best for me. however my granny was awfully harsh with me, and tried to force me to eat terrible gristly meat which put me off for life. I’m now a vegetarian but happy to eat pretty much any veggie food. I still don’t like certain textures though and my son is the same. Possibly part of broader sensory issues.

Yes. Terribly. I'm not sure why though. It was such a pain for my mum. My son is now a very fussy eater. I can hear her laughing in heaven!!

@IgiveupallthenamesIwantedareg0

I believe that a lot of this "fussy eating" come from the culture of where , when, with whom is eaten. If the adults at the table have the same stuff on their plate and eat it, that is an example for the child. If a child is sat in a highstool or fed separtely from the adults how can she /he even begin to learn that what comes on the table is all there is.i. So many parents sit their kids away from them eating, make so many "kid firendly food" i understand that the kids get "fussy". a meal is a shared experience and everyone learns that this is what is on the table.

^^This is crap.

I believe that a lot of this "fussy eating" come from the culture of where , when, with whom is eaten. If the adults at the table have the same stuff on their plate and eat it, that is an example for the child. If a child is sat in a highstool or fed separtely from the adults how can she /he even begin to learn that what comes on the table is all there is.i. So many parents sit their kids away from them eating, make so many "kid firendly food" i understand that the kids get "fussy". a meal is a shared experience and everyone learns that this is what is on the table

Not for me. My mum is a great cook, we always ate what her and my dad had, and we always ate together. My two younger sisters eat pretty much everything. I just have a lot of issues around food - some caused by my parents physically forcing me to eat things (using force to put food into my mouth and then threatening me with punishment if it wasn't swallowed, or if it was thrown up), and some I think came before that and caused the fussiness which led to the force feeding. That then created a vicious circle where meal times were very stressful for everyone. I wish I'd been bloody pandered to, I'd probably have grown out of it much better than I did.

No. I eat pretty much anything. However I had a very small appetite between the ages of about 10 and 13ish. I think i may have been too hungry. That sick feeling you get when you are absolutely famished? I was a very, very active child and did gymnastics after school with a very small lunch i made myself. In hindsight it wasn't enough food. I would feel faint and sick walking home. We had three meals a day and no snacks in between. Most meals were meat and two veg or freezer options like fish fingers, mini Kiev, etc. I learnt to eat a more balanced diet as I started to meal prep for myself. There are very few food I won't eat. Pineapple and grapefruit are still disgusting. I've acquired a taste for liver, courgette, black pudding, olives, blue cheese, etc that I didn't like as a child. Probably due to the preparation. Boiled courgette anyone?
Ds1became very fussy as a toddler. We did try several methods to get him to eat a balanced diet. He will now try most meals from age 5 and eats a variety of things. Ds2 was much better but both would rather live of snacks than sit and eat a main meal .
I tend to try to do mostly meals they will eat and mix in a more adventurous meal once a week. Limited snacks unless they have been active.

@brakethree
Context is everything on these threads - would be much better if people could state (roughly) how old they are.

I'm 51.

Yes. It’s now thought to be genetic. I remember sadly looking at food thinking it just didn’t seem like food.

@brakethree nkt fussy, early 30s, not British

Yes. I was a nightmare to feed when I was small, then at about the age of 9 I suddenly found my appetite. Now there are very few foods I dislike. DD was the same, and apart from being vegetarian she is now an adventurous and excellent cook.

No. But I had friends who were. I’m in my 30’s so that would have been 80’s / 90’s. Funnily, my dp’s always said they wouldn’t tolerate a fussy child, but as grandparents they did..
I had a fussy child, an eat anything child, and one who has their likes and dislikes, but as they like a wide enough variety I’m ok with it.