To think most kids hardly eat any fruit and veg

[Mummabear04]

I've just noticed that when I have kids round for play dates that loads of them will not eat any fruit or veg snacks. I understand not everyone will like everything but there are so many kids who will refuse apples, strawberries, grapes and I just find it mad. None of these kids have AFRID or any other needs. They always ask for sweets and chocolate which is fine and I don't mind giving them some but AIBU to think that most kids don't really eat any fruit or veg?

No I haven’t observed this at all.

If anything the kids in my life eat monstrous amount of fruit - mine included - and I have to limit it.

Not really. Even my fussy child eats fruit ( and not much else).I would say most kods eat fruit, even if not every type.

Fruit always gets demolished on our play dates, particularly berries!

In my experience (including working in childcare) most kids eat fruit but lots of kids are more limited in veg.

I wish, costs me a bloody fortune in fruit and veg!

I think all kids will try their luck for sweets/chocolate, but will eat fruit (and maybe veg) in the absence of anything else.

Over many years of nannying I've never met a child who wouldn't eat ANY fruit or veg. The very vast majority would eat a wide range of fruit. Veg refusal is more common ime.

The last 2 playdates I've had the kids have left strawberries, raspberries and blueberries!

This varies very much by circles, I think. Leaving out issues like ARFID or autism, because that obviously changes things a bit, most children I know eat very well and varied diets.

My DC would not eat fruit at all but will happily eat a range of vegetables

There’s almost competitive provision of fruit and veg round here, on play dates and at parties and it always gets eaten.

Yes and for me too! I was just wondering if my kids were not the norm...

My children love fruit but I’ve noticed on play dates lots of their friends won’t eat any healthy snacks like cucumber or berries! My son is pretty bad with veg but will eat broccoli and carrots and it’s so odd to see children eating none?!

Hard disagree of fruit. It always get rinsed here especially berries, grapes and cucumbers. Veg is often more of a miss though and most kids I know would take advantage of a playdate by not eating very much of it!

My son is more of a vegetable person, than fruit. He does eat some fruits, but loves his veggies! Given an option most kids will go for the sweet treats rather than fruit or veg!

I think they might have them at home, but fruit cut up in a bowl by someone's mum and not knowing if jts juicy or who touched it might be less appealing than a choc bar in a wrapper that you know is the same from all shops

It depends. DD’s friend has a father (idiot) who once saw me sitting with the toddler girls all munching on a vegetable platter. He came over and said, “yuk”. What an utter twat. My DD still eats vast quantities of vegetables. His does not, and is not healthy.

He was raised by the classic mum in the 70s and 80s with salad and brown bread being seen as suspicious middle-class nonsense. Lucky bastard got potato waffles, which were the height of decadence to me at the time.

I haven't seen that last playdate we had at home DS and his pal ate a whole melon 😂

I agree including my own toddler

DD is a bit like this. She won’t really eat fruit apart from bananas. She eats broccoli and peas though as well as pepper, onion, garlic and tomato mixed with sauce so I’m happy she’s getting five a day. I wish she’d eat a bigger range but at the moment she just won’t. No ARFID or autism, she’s just picky. She’s only two though so hopefully she’ll eat more. DS eats everything, copious amounts of berries and apples.

You’re right. The government recommends all children (once they’re mostly off formula which is nutritionally complete, obviously breastfed babies need to supplement vitamin D from birth anyway) take a daily multivitamin up to the age of 5 because it’s well documented that most children’s diets are totally inadequate. Over half of under 5s get 2 or fewer portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Children as a whole group eat fewer fruits and vegetables per day than adults as a whole group, and the majority of adults (65+% depending on age group category) fail to reach the 5 a day recommendation themselves.

I have a fussy eater and they will eat bananas and watermelon on playdates and that's all. But they won't eat much in the way of sweets or biscuits either - they only like certain types of biscuits, plain chocolate and certain types of gummy sweets.

DC1 is much better at home and will eat a wider range of fruit and vegetables because I prepare it in a certain way. They won't eat it if all mixed together and are wary of fruit which can go off or be too soft (like strawberries).

DC1 is definitely a restrictive eater, but I've noticed that lots of children eat less well on playdates than at home as the environment is unfamiliar and food is prepared differently and that throws them off.

DS (2.5) loves fruit, and eats most veg too. Don’t get me wrong, if you offered him a sweetie in one hand and a cucumber stick in the other, he’s probably going to go for the sweetie - he’s not daft. But most of his snacks are fresh fruit & veg and he demolishes the lot, and he’ll choose fruit over most other snacks. He chose a piece of apple over some chocolate his grandad was trying to slip him once! Watermelon is his favourite at the moment.

Maybe it’s partly down to what they’re served at home and their parents’ tastes? I eat a lot of fruit and veg myself, so it’s what’s available and he sees me eating.
Of course, the complete opposite might be true - maybe they’re encouraged to eat fruit and veg at home, and think you’ll say “yes” to sweets because they’re a guest, whereas mum usually says “no”!

Again, all the children I know eat broadly the same foods as the adults, just in smaller amounts; lots of different vegetables as a matter of course. But there must be a sizeable demographic that doesn't.

My DS is quite fussy but he eats 10 million apples a day, and also likes all types of melon except watermelon (which might have seeds), bananas, pears, grapes and broccoli. However, some PPs would probably think he doesn't eat fruit or veg if they offered cucumber, watermelon and berries, which other children apparently like.

I wish they didn't.

I'm going to have to remortgage to fund dd's blueberry and raspberry obsession. She wolfs punnets down in seconds.

Ds is a bit cheaper, he's happy with a pack of baby sweetcorn and a conference pear for snacks.