To think just don’t offer them beige food?

[Ashlll]

Or am I spectacularly uneducated here? My sister has a 3 year old who apparently will only eat beige food and mostly crisps. She says it’s a sensory thing and we have to respect it when around him, for example when I took him and dd out last week I had to give him quavers rather than the snacks I had got for dd… which then made dd want quavers too! Same with water, he won’t drink it and it has to be juice.

I am not massively strict but did say to dsis just don’t buy these things then he won’t know he can ask for them… she says he just won’t eat or drink. I think this is ridiculous (I’ve not said this to her). AIBU?!?

And neither should they be applied to the general population at a whim.

YRBU

I was told something similar with my son, ending up in hospital because he wouldn't eat for days after a sickness bug was more regular than youd think. If he does not want the food offered, he will just not eat until something he does eat is offered.

As an outsider, it's not really your business as to how the child is supported with their autism. With snacks, there is actually a lot to consider and I'm sure the child's mum has thought about it too.

It comes across like the way the autism effects him, isn't convenient to you. When it's is a huge obstacles in his life, part of his diagnosis but you'd rather just ignore and dismiss it for your own reasons

To try and help you understand, a packet of quavers is just a packet of quavers, they smell the same everytime, they crunch the same way everytime, they're the same colour, the same shape pattern. They come in a bag with air to keep the crisps safe as possible.

Now think of a fruit, let's say blueberries. They are different sizes, shapes, colour, texture, taste. You might get a sweet one, you might get a sour one, I'm might be soft, or firm, it might be very juicey. You don't know which blue berry you will get and you might really hate a texture or the taste.

Quavers are quavers. You know what to expect, they don't change so drastically. They are safe.

Then how are we transporting the blueberries, they might get squashed, bump around and bruise. But crisps will be crisps (as long as no one sits on them.

Who's doing that?

Yep...spectacularly uneducated! She's doing her best?

@Yellowdresses wasn't talking about you though.
The threads about small kids! and yellowdresses was making a general and perfectly valid point about kids
Looking back I see @FunMustard has picked up on the same.

Equally my parents didn’t eat cheese or yoghurt so my db and I grew up hating cheese and yoghurt. We couldn’t even cope with the smell of cheese it would make us throw up.
Shock horror

I went to Uni and my house mates start adding a tiny bit in here and there ( as we all cooked together ) and I weaned myself onto eating cheese. I love it now.

Shock horror!

You see we all have individual life experiences for many scenarios but in the grand scale of things what works for one is irrelevant for another.
So the best advice for OP and her sister is for OP to tell her sister to talk to a health professional or at least educate herself on the research in child behaviour and development and eating disorders.

I Agree, I think we cross posted
Its like trans threads that throw in the old argument “ what about trans men in the ladies toilet”…..like some sort of gotcha but spectacularly missing the point !!!! Throwing in the old pasta is beige comment is completely irrelevant! Beige food doesn’t refer to the colour it’s the upf nature of the food.

We all have individual stories and experiences and mine is different from yours for example
but my post asked if anyone knew of any research or surveys on this.

Ive had a look online but can’t see anything.
Mn often has many medical or/ and health trained professionals or interested parties that may have an answer. Hence my question.

According to research it’s because of the salt, sugar and fat content. All highly desirable and addictive.

of note I’m not denying blandness is a potential factor for some

Source? Was the research conducted on autistics?

I posted one article a few pages back from a Professor in paediatric eating disorders inc ARFID

From Prof Williams? Because that quite clearly starts with ‘the causes of arfid are not known. Then says ‘may’ be linked to fat and sugar. That’s not ‘research suggests’ that’s one opinion from one doctor.
Im not saying that it might not be part of the problem, but If it were trnue that high levels of salt and fat were the reason ARFID sufferers would be eating bacon and rich pasta dishes and they aren’t. And when you ask ARFID sufferers they will tell you it’s a texture issue, a strength of flavour issue.

Well no it’s not one opinion from one Professor in his field its the current understanding based on scientific research.
There is research in this area. That’s how he became qualified to do the job.

I suppose either your sister is lying, lazy or stupid.

Is she any of those things?

If not, why not just believe her.

I bet you wouldn't. Starving humans have eaten other humans, have eaten raw seagull. Does this happen in the animal kingdom?

Agree. The child knows of theae things bexuase the DM introduced it to him.

Aaaand that is not normal so a dieticiab and nutritionist and Paediatrician should have been sought.

If my DC refused food at 6 months old or when i weaned my first thought wouldn't be crisps and junk food and sugary drinks. It would be call HV and get to the Drs.

It started somewhere. And the person offering is as at fault.

I would not be catering to those demands.

But who introduced him to junk food? How does he know about it?

I know someone who has a daughter liie this and instead of introducing healthy foods at weqbing she intoridced junk food. Chips, crisps, piwdered mash potato, coca cola. All becuase when she introduced gealthy foods baby pulled a face. Suoer normal for babies to pull faces snd it can take up to 10 tries for babies to get used to foods.

What do children in poverty stricken countries do? Income from a poverty stricken country snd junk food and crisps and processed food is not cheap it is a luxuary. Eveeyone needs basic foods using natural ingredients. No is is introduced to processed crap.
My point is if the child was never introduced to crap food then they would never refuse healthy foods. It is that simple.

I totally get that and yes it’s a very different situation.

But reading this, to many posters I must look lazy and like I can’t be bothered to offer my child a range of foods while I’m out of the house. That judgement feels dreadful when I spend hours and hours a week trying to help my child eat behind closed doors and while I’m out, I generally only offer a safe food unless the signs show willingness, to minimise distress.

Like many a thread I read on here, live and let live I think.

To those who say children don’t know beige food exists, of course I know you’re right, they have no idea. But when your child is starving themselves and has for years never put a piece of food into their mouth, they aren’t ’waiting for beige food’, they are avoiding everything else that feels unsafe for whatever reason we might not fully understand.

did you deliberately leave out.

chicken.
rice.
pasta.
bread.
crackers.
breast sticks.
rice cakes.
potatoes.

etc. etc. etc.

Sadly not and we are being put back under dietician as she is anemic which is filling me with glee after our experiences.

“Not considered by any of the parents of kids with restricted eating”.

of course it has and is. We are all well aware of this. But when your child continues to consistently refuse and starts losing huge amounts of weight what do you do? Keep going?

My child has never eaten a UPF. EVER. Of any type.

@NaiceBalonz why is that funny?

Lots of people here are saying cucumber.

Are you suggesting people don’t like feeding them broccoli?