Fussy eaters

[SoupDragon]

Moving on from Nutty's thread about eating food on a play date, does anyone remember one of the Robert Winston programmes where he talked about fussy eaters and "super tasters". He did this test where people (incl their children I think) were given a piece of paper impregnated with a really bitter/salty tasting substance. I think without exception, the so called "fussy eaters" reacted strongly to this substance and the ones who will shovel anything down did not react at all. I'm not sure if they knew exactly what the test was about.

Anyway, my long winded point is that a fussy child may not actually be fussy at all but is more sensitive to taste than a non fussy child. They would also be more reluctant to try things since so many tastes would be strong to them that they'd get put off new things very easily.

I was the world's worst for not eating as a child. The only vegetable I would eat were tinned peas! I am pleased to say my culinary taste buds have expanded somewhat as I have grown up.

(no smart comments about when did that happen, thank you soupy!)

I used to hide my peas in the piano stool at Sunday lunch (not enough chairs to seat everyone when GrandParents came visiting!).

I'm still a fairly fussy eater and hate things with strong tastes and hot spicey foods. It's nothing to do with how I was brought up because ours was a house where you sat at the table until you'd finished. Proof that fussy eating has chuff all to do with how your parents dealt with your eating habits.

"Proof that fussy eating has chuff all to do with how your parents dealt with your eating habits".

Thanks Soupy - gettng slightly p*sed off on the other "eating" thread

BTW, my elder brothers, who were brought up exactly the same way I was oddly enough, DO like spicy food, hot curries and silly chillies.

yes i remember that programme soupy, my son does so few foods some to do with texture and some to do with smell, he has come on so much with food, i remember the time he wouldn't eat a chip if it wasn't perfectly straight he doesn't cope with a lot of smells essential oils for instance he cant cope with those, mind you theres one of those that gets right up my nose too

Yes I have heard that some childrens taste buds are more sensitive than others, I use to throw potatoes under the dinner table at school and put food in my pockets at frinds house's, so that they thought I had eaten it, got found out though! now I eat pretty much everything.

Defo agree soupy. My parents shovel anything down that they're offered and have always taught me to do the same, and never 'pandered' to me - just offered me food and let me take it or leave it. As a result - there's quite a few foods that I really can't stand and gag if I try and eat them - where's that from if not from a natural predisposition? The other interesting thing is that I can taste very 'subtle' flavours whereas some people I know can't and I think that has a lot to do with it, how 'sharp' your tastebuds are.

That's really interesting! I wish it were the case for my dainty DD1, probably not though as the first meal she ever gave a real go was Thai chicken! (Extremely spicy) Though, I have to say, in this case she's not really a picky eater, she just wont eat more than a few mouthfuls of any one meal.

Lou, were they the minted canned ones?? I was the same!!

Sprouts!

supertasters

My daughter seems to have a remarkably good sense of smell so will only eat food thet smells "right" to her, i.e. fairly limited. Strangely I can see where she's coming from on this beacuse who, on smelling sprouts, would eat them? Or, come to that, a lovely ripe stilton or brie?

we weren't allowed anything as posh as minted ones carla!

I also refused to drink anything but lemonade until I was 2.

did anyone elses family think brussells had to be cooked forever til they were smelly and soggy, or was it just in our house?

and you had to put bicarb in so they went yellow and were totally lacking in vitamins!

yes had to put the bicarb in the cabbage too

I wasn't keen on veg when I was little I'd eat peas straight from a pod but not peas out of a tin. But I'd eat Carrots and potatoes. My brother was worse he refused to eat practically anything except for Sausages, burgers, fish fingers and chips. He wouldn't drink milk, still doesn't, wouldn't eat any veg and I'm sure at one point when he was really little all he ate was custard cream biscuits. My grandad used to make Lentil soup and my brother would only eat it if my grandad strained all the lentils etc out of it and just gave him the broth liquid. My mum constantly had my brother at the dr's because he was so thin there were bones sticking out of him but he just wouldn't eat.

As we've got older we've got better. I love all sorts of veg now and my brother eats a lot better than he did, even eats carrots and peas, something I never thought would happen.

When my dd1 was little she would eat anything that was put in front of her as she's got older she's started to stop eating certain things. But she loves her veg especially broccoli.

I do believe that as you get older your tastes change. My dh as a child would hide cooked carrots down the side of the dining room table, even now he's not very keen on cooked carrots but will eat them if they are in something or there on the plate.

Message withdrawn

Re cooking of veg in the 'good old days'. My mother would cut cauliflower into florets and then boil it for 45 minutes! She would then mash the mush! All with lots of bicarb and salt. Yummy, not! When I left home I found college mass cooked food to be a cuilinary delight and started to eat my veg. My mother said, 'I knew that you would eat veg if you had to.'

Err, no, I started eating them because I found out what they should taste like

Oh and re the 'why are kids fussy'

Answer because they are. It isn't the parents or what goes on in the house. My kids are living proof of this.

Dd, now 7 has always eaten anything . She loves smoked salmon, all fruit and veg, olives, anchovies, stinky cheese, and will even eat shellfish as long as I take off the heads etc. I thought, in my foolish ignorence that this was because I had done such a great job of weening her. Oh how I did strut

I weened ds the same way and he is the original chicken nugget king. Untill a few months ago the only fruit that would pass his lips would be bananas. He has now extended this to apples as well. Oh how I deflated!

That will teach me to be smug!