Picky dinner guests (kids)

[AGDee]

I really thought I posted in this thread. Was there another like it recently? Maybe I forgot to hit the Post Quick Reply button or something.

My mom used to force feed us stuff we hated. We would have to eat as many bites as we were old. I learned to cut liver into the tiniest bites possible. I had to eat 10 lima beans when I was 10 years old. I gagged on them and it was awful. Therefore, I swore I would never do that to my kids. While I didn't make a whole separate meal, I would do things like.. if I knew one didn't like the main course but loves mac n cheese, I would have mac n cheese as a side with that meal.

That said, my son was a very very picky eater. I honestly thought he was a lazy eater because he only wanted things with loose ground beef (like tacos, sloppy joes, spaghetti sauce) or processed chicken nuggets. He wouldn't eat steak, roast beef, real chicken, turkey, pork chops, pork roast, anything with melted mozzarella, etc. He would always tell me that it choked him. I told him "You have to CHEW it". He loved meatloaf (but would mash it into tiny bits) and soft stuff, like spaghetti. The only sandwiches he would eat was peanut butter and jelly (and my daughter has a peanut allergy so that was a real chore to make without getting peanut stuff on anything else!).

Fast forward to age 10. The dentist referred both kids to orthodontics. At the initial eval, the orthodontist is showing me my son's x-rays and bite pictures. She points out that his teeth don't touch and says "I don't know how he chews to eat". Lightbulb goes on.. he CAN'T chew those foods he won't eat. That's why they choke him! So, about 18 months later, still in braces, the boy says "Something weird is going on with my teeth." And I ask him what's going on? Do they hurt? "No.. they hit each other when I close my mouth."

I busted out laughing.. "Honey, they are SUPPOSED to. They're finally in alignment."

The boy now loves pork chops, steak, roast, chicken.. and even pizza. All the things he couldn't eat before. He wasn't being picky or lazy, he physically could not chew them. Poor kid.

ETA: MysticCat posted while I was writing this. Have you done any desensitization with him with food textures? Sometimes if you can identify which textures are a problem, you can work up to them little by little and build his tolerance.