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?

To be fair my DS hates berries but likes plenty of other fruit and veg 🤷‍♀️

I can still remember after we moved to live in a more middle class area, things like going to my friend's house when I was about 11 and her mum made home made spag bol - I was in heaven. And for breakfast we had really buttery toast and really nice fresh bread not Mighty White and with actual butter not Flora.

Also remember my dad moaning as he did the food shopping and I'd go with him and I always wanted something expensive- particularly after experiencing things at friends' houses. He was a soft touch though as he'd often buy it, while being grumpy about it. I was always a wannabe foodie.

@spoonbillstretford Was that a long time ago? Spaghetti bolognaise is pretty standard fare at all the working class families I know. Butter much less so as it is very expensive.

It was late 1980s. My dad always wanted to eat like it was the 1950s though so we were well behind!

My child who's nearly 3 possibly has ARFID and it took a long time to get him eating fruit. Hell still only eat grapes, apples and pears. I'm so bloody grateful he eats those as he's got such a limited diet. I think alot of kids obviously prefer chocolate and crisps so probably hold off on the fruit as they know they'll get the junk if they hold out long enough

But what else are you offering? My dc eat a huge amount of fruit and veg. I’d say probably 6 servings of fruit a day at least, plus the veg they eat for meals, and veg is usually the first thing they eat off the plate.

But play dates are usually free for alls for getting other people’s parents to feed you junk. I definitely offer up crisps and biscuits and ice lollies when friends are over that we don’t normally eat day to day. If they asked for crisps and chocolate, and you gave them crisps and chocolate plus some fruit, I would totally expect them to gorge on the treats and leave the fruit.

My kids like their fruit and veg just like it is at home, so maybe it's not presented in a familiar way. DD1 had a massive meltdown at age 3 because a friend cut the carrots the wrong shape (circles instead of batons) rendering them inedible. I wonder if the kids are just not used to berries? They are very pricey and lots of families probably can't afford to buy them often.

This isn’t true for my experience at all. I’ve hosted dozens of kids parties and done the catering for all of my extended family. I’ve always provided fruit platters with rainbow fruit kebab, water melon sticks or mixed melon balls. The kids always hoover them up and the carrot and Pepper batons, onion bhajis and samosas always go down well too.

I find my son and his friends have voracious appetites for fruit. Vegetables much more variable. But things like grapes, cherries, bananas, strawberries and watermelon are always devoured.

My kids eat a reasonable amount of fruit and veg, but almost never as snacks, so don't tend to think of them as snack food. Today they had apple slices & toast for breakfast, cucumber sticks & strawberry as part of lunch & will have carrots, green beans & broccoli with tea. But if I offer them a "snack" they would be expecting a biscuit, crisps or maybe nuts, and would feel disappointed if the snack on offer turned out to be fruit. (Snacks in our house are almost always treat food,but limited to one per day)

I've never met a child who doesn't eat fruit. I've known a few be fussy with veg but not fruit. I've met a lot of children too through work, family and my own children.

I think it probably seems like your own kids eat more because inherently what you have in the house reflects what they eat? In my house I would serve as a snack cucumber, apple slices, carrot sticks, blueberries and raspberries, say, and my kids would eat every bite. But if they went to someone else's house and were served bananas, cauliflower, satsumas, pepper strips and raw tomatoes they wouldn't eat them - and so someone might conclude, quite reasonably but entirely incorrectly, that they don't eat fruit or veg.

My incredibly fussy child eats fruit with no issues but vegetables are another matter. Especially when the come in the form of bits e.g. bits of onion in a sauce, bits of brocoli, bits in salad. I can only hope they will grow out of it because as a child I hated bits too.

This thread is making me genuinely feel like the shittest mum alive. DD only eats carrots & apples. She does have diagnosed Autism and ARFID and the NHS dietician she saw has all but given up(!) but I do still feel guilty when I read about kids eating broccoli, watermelon, blueberries etc. breaks my heart 💔

Veg possibly. Fruit is an easy win with my DS tbh.

My son eats around 5 portions of fruit a day and around 3 portions of veg. I would like it to be higher.

My kids don't eat a lot of veg, they tend to stick to salad items. But fruit they love!

MNs is not the right audience for this!

I tend to find sweet fruit is fairly popular & cucumber/carrot sticks. Other veg tends to be avoided.

I also wouldn't think what a child eats on a play date is necessarily indicative of what they eat at home.

They possibly don't get many biscuits or chocolate at home so always jump on the chance when at other people's houses!

@ButteredRadish pls don't feel bad. This is MNs where the dc are reading in the womb, composing as a toddler, writing prose in reception & they all become striking & incredibly tall dc. This is not reflective of real life! 😆

Vitamin D is mostly absorbed from sunshine through the skin.

My 4yo will eat a ton of fruit and veg as long as it's not cooked (e.g. raw peppers, carrot sticks etc) and he's always been open to trying things. My 2yo is much less keen, prefers anything dairy (cheese, yoghurt) and will have a bit of a limited number of fruits but not a lot. I cook sauces with hidden veg but left to his own devices, the younger one would probably never eat any veg. No idea why, I weaned them using the same methods and serve them the same foods, their preferences are just different.

You're asking on MN, all the kids will be eating massive fruit salads twice a day.

Yes i get sick of children of 8 and 9 who eat nothing green.

I always serve central dishes with 4 choices eg it might be peas, carrots, broccoli & asparagus, or sweetcorn, green beans, spinach & cauliflower. My 8 year old will have some of all four, my 6 year old will have 2 -3 depending on the choices. Loads of the children who come will refuse any veg at all, will pick every bean out of the chili or curry, will refuse any sauce on pasta at all (even pesto or cheese). And their parents let them fill up hugely on their favourite meals, or on really palatable processed carbs like soft crossaints and brioche or crisps and crackers. Its just plain pickyness.

Plenty are overweight too. I know a minority may have arfid etc but most have simply learned that if they hold out for the snacky/beige foods they like they'll get them.