Is there such a thing as a child who cheerfully eats whatever you put in front of her / him?

[YunoYurbubson]

My children are 2 and 4. I don't think of them as particularly fussy, and they eat a wide range of things.

But OH for a meal time where they didn't peer suspiciously at whatever is on their plate. Or announce they don;t like it before trying it. Or asking for ketchup.

My dream is "That looks nice mum!" "Thanks mum, may I please get down?"

Possibly with a little jovial conversation or anecdotes about our day thrown in.

Does this exist?

Or has everyone had to ban the words yuck, disgusting and eurrrgh from the dinner table?

yes, there is such a thing. i have 3 of them. sorry

i don't know how it happened though

I have one of these, I also have a fussy one!

DS did until he was about 18 months old.

Now he is fussier but I do sometimes get a 'mmm yummy, thank you Mummy' when his food is presented to him.

He's only 2.4 so I think anecdotes are a little beyond him, although we do get 'er, excuse me you two' if he thinks that DH and I chatting for too long without including him

DS was soooo fussy as a (remembers crying over my loving pureed food as he refused it again and again) baby/toddler now eats whatever is put in front of him

I have DD that merrily eats absolutely everything put in front of her very quickly. She will start on someone else's dinner if they don't eat it quickly enough!

However I also have a DS that eats very very little, very slowly.

So it's nothing you do, just how they are.

Mind you, there is no jovial conversation with DD - she is busy scoffing!

Thisisyesterday - really, anything? They eat whatever you cook? What sort of things do you cook?

They do eat up eventually, and they often love whatever is is, but it is like puling teeth to get there.

Maybe I should be more repetitive so they learn to recognise and like things?

We don't often have the same things twice. Except fish, and they love that.

I have 1 who makes mmm noises about most stuff and says 'this looks yummy' on a regular basis-he won't eat egg, but has tried lots and gags a lot so I think I'll let him off. He is a joy to cook for-I put surprises in his lunch box cos I know he'll appreciate it!

Another who is pretty great and will give most stuff a go, but is grumpier in general!

Lastly, I have a food phobic!

They do really love eating food they've made, but I know it's an arse with little ones.

x-posts with lots of people.

What sort of things do all your 'eat-anythingers' eat?

My two are very good.

Ds doesn't like butter

Dd doesn't like sweetcorn on the cob or roast beef

Neither of them like avocadoes.

That's about it really! Can't complain.

My DD's 4 and 2 eat pretty much anything. DD1 being famed for her 'this is delicious mummy' . DD1 will not eat egg yolk in a boiled egg or parsnip, but that is about it for refusals. DD2 will eat most things - her favourite atm being Sauerkraut

Mine either have roast, casserole, curry, pasta, fish or cheesy beans (jacket spud that it!). I find most things can be encompassed within those general headings and so i breezily say 'oh, yes it's casserole for tea' and as they are used to eating casserole they are then normally fine

pretty much Yuno... i have some things i cook regularly, but I do quite often go through my cookbooks and do different stuff.

we're vegetarian, and actually most of our meals are vegan as ds2 is dairy and egg intolerant

um, this week so far we have had:
green veg and mint soup with croutons and crusty bread

stir fried veg/tofu/rice with soy sauce, sesame oil and tiny bit of honey

mushroom pate en croute with boiled pots and veg

sunday we were at my mums and we had a pie which was mushrooms in red wine i think, roast pots etc

How do you get a cheerful eater? Where did I go wrong??

I wish people weren't convinced it was my poor parenting and pandering to my DS's whims that has made him into a fussy eater. :(

Or that he wouldn't say 'Yuck that smells disgusting' if I sit down with my lunch at the same time as him and don't eat peanut butter sandwiches which is generally what he's having

Oh arses.

Thisisyesterday, I was just deciding you probably fed your children lots of lovely 'childrens food' and that's why they ate it, but you have blown my presumptions out of the water.

We are also vegetarian (except fish for the children), and ds and I are dairy free.

Dd doesn't like onions, or 'brown bits' in things .

Ds is better, but would happily live on salad which doesn't fill him up.

My two are normal fussy and relatively unpredictable but more and more dd will surprise me by wanting to try things. We cook together which helps a LOT - they like experimenting and 'taste testing'. She knows it makes me reeeeeeeeeally happy if she says 'this is yummy' or 'this is the best shepherd's pie EVER' so she does it a lot .

Mind you, I grew up on fishfingers and potato waffles so have low expectations - am amazed daily that they just eat normal, grown-up food with us (eg salmon, chilli, prawn stirfry is our latest experiment).

lol, no, i am just lucky!!!

maybe i am just a fantastic cook?

(PS 'that smells disgusting' is just rude, and I wouldn't be impressed. Have tried to explain what is polite at the dinner table ie you don't have to eat it, but don't make a fuss etc. We are currently having a cutlery battle though which we are just about winning. She is 4 )

am sure it is all down to luck. i think it's fairly normal for them to be suspicious of things, particularly if it's something new

the only thing i do that i think may have helped is that if they go through phases of "i don't like courgettes" or whatever, i just keep offering it, tiny bits, and eventually they start eating it again

DD's like that. She won't entertain macaroni cheese, so I don't make it, and isnit massively keen on beans and may have a slight moan but will eat them. She'll eat pretty much anything else.

No idea what I did, and as she's an only I have nothing to compare her to.

I do think it's easier as there's only the two of us though. I don't cook things I don't like either and there's only two sets of dislikes to fit in, and as I'll eat most things too most things go.

We eat, erm family type stuff-curries, stir fry, pie, roasts, pasta dishes, fajitas falafel, soups etc.

my dd is a bit fussy, used to be terrible

she LOVES spicy food but not anything that's wet or squishy

I have one who eats anything.
in fact I worry sometimes about his capacity for food

I have 2. ds1(7) and ds2(2).
It is just luck. But I am truley grateful/pleased.
Both of them scoff anyhting put infront of them. Always have done. Since the day they were weaned. Not ever had a fussy stage.
ds1 is not keen on lettuce and cucumber. ds2 not keen of egg sandwiches.
Both scoff all fruit and veg. chilli and curry. roasts and casseroles. pates, pasta and pasties.
And most importantly they are more than eager to try anything they have never seen before. Now that is something else. Rare. I am just lucky. And because dh and I both enjoy food generally, eating cooking, restaurants, buying food etc. then the fact our kids do, gives me GREAT pleasure.
But i appreciate it has nothing to do with me and is just fluke.

My DD (2 years, 5 months) will eat anything. It's brill. As a snack earlier, she had a handful of raw spinach and sunflower seeds. I haven't found anything that she won't eat. We went to an Indian buffet the other day, and even the staff couldn't believe what she ate.

She loves food! Just like her mum!.

DS is fussy and always has been. Always says 'yuck' to dinner initially (even if he then proceeds to scoff it), and just generally sniffs around food suspiciously.

DD shovels in whatever you put in front of her quite happily.

Different strokes etc, but in general, I do find most children quite fussy.

i've got one
she only dislikes raw tomato. otherwise anything goes, from peas and carrots, to salt and pepper squid and prawn bhuna. often remarks "thank you for a lovely dinner. can we have that again?". the maitres d' of several smart restaurants have commented on her taste and table manners .

she has been like this from day 1 of weaning, so nothing to do with us . she was a godawful, screamy, non-sleeping baby, so i reckon the powers that be decided that i would be allowed a small break.