Comments on: Today’s post brought to you (again!) from the New York Times

By: nyjlm

nyjlm — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:00:00 +0000

hey! you stole my line–I used to tell my mom: “I’m not picky, I like what I like” : )

By: The Purloined Letter

The Purloined Letter — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:43:00 +0000

You are invited to dinner where I’ll cook mostly stuff you like–and okra. I’ve cured many many friends (even children) of their supposed okraphobia. (For most people, it isn’t the food–it’s the preparation.) And if you think you don’t like Brussels sprouts, I may be able to fix that, too. And I’ll let you hold some yarn during that first bite….

By: meggie

meggie — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 06:50:00 +0000

Oh yeah!! We just had that dicussion today with our daughter. She disliked things for some years, because Mum or Dad did. Then she discovered she could choose!! And some of the things on the ‘hate’ list became ‘like’ lists!!

Iti s always the thin red line in parenting!!

By: Stomper Girl

Stomper Girl — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 04:17:00 +0000

Same. I’m kind to my kids about their fussiness because deep down I sympathise. Even if that makes my job as head chef deeply frustrating.

By: Liz K.

Liz K. — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:59:00 +0000

I think this has as much to do with the current trend among certain parents to want their kids to be “cool” and sophisticated, precocious and perfect, because of course, that reflects on your own coolness. Cool people have cool kids, right? And if your kid prefers grilled cheese and vanilla ice cream to caprese salad, that makes you — horrors — conventional and boring.

Why can’t we just let kids eat like kids? That doesn’t necessarily mean junk food, but aren’t certain foods an acquired taste? Can’t we let our kids acquire their tastes on their own time? No, because it is cooler at cocktail parties to say that your kids eat sushi and vindaloo. We want our children to have adult palates, but we do not afford them the right to have preferences.

I once told a foodie friend that he needed to remember that it was not a character flaw to be ambivalent about food. Our children are not an amalgam of our high-minded exposures and our imposed interests and passions. Jocks can raise aesthetes, and the gourmand can rear a philistine.

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:02:00 +0000

I’ve conducted in-depth research on a scale similar to yours, and I’ve noticed that one kid’s hatred for bananas will be matched by a passion for, say, chickpeas, while another will loathe beans but adore soup. It’s such a waste of energy trying to force people to eat things they don’t like, especially if their nutritional needs are being met, more-or-less.