Hilary
Member at Large
http://community-links.ca/Home.aspx is a site that helps people find services in my area. I don't know if there would be something similar "up north" for you, ChemGal.
How to find info about groups/services offered by churches
- Thread starter ChemGal
- Start date
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Seeler
Well-Known Member
Even fifteen years ago, I probably believed that kids who were picky eaters just hadn't been exposed to a variety of foods, and/or were filling up on junk food, and/or had learned to manipulate their parents to get special attention. I still think this happens to a degree and can be combated by providing a variety of good food at regular times, no between meal snacks (except those planned-like at recess or after school), and not fussing over whether the child is eating or not.
Since then I've had a grandson who has a very limited number of foods he will eat. He also demonstrates other sensitivities. (ie he doesn't like going to an amusement park with the exciting rides and loud noises that other children seem to thrive on.) I've also read about food likes and dislikes, and remembered back to when my mother would insist that I sit at the table until I ate my carrots, while they grew cold, and I gagged and would almost throw up.
Apparently dislike for new foods - flavours, textures, etc - when young is a survival technique inherited from our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Little children who wandered around learned not to eat unknown leaves and berries that might make them sick or poison them. Most people, as they grow up, learn to use other means to decide what is fit for human consumption. But often this depends upon the culture a person grows up in.
But children like my grandson do not outgrow their dislikes. He will probably always be a fussy eater who looks for plain foods like meat and potatoes on the menu. Perhaps the acid in tomatoes, or the strong flavour of turnips, really does make them sick, strawberries cause hives, and spiced foods give them migrains.
And others, like myself, simply have dislikes. I still don't like those big, strong tasting carrots that keep all winter, and that my mother boiled up for dinner several times a week. I do like the small yellow/pale orange ones fresh from the garden in the summer - or carrots sticks on a salad plate.
For parents of sensitive eaters, a support group that encourages each other, shares experiences, techniques and recipes is probably a good idea.
Since then I've had a grandson who has a very limited number of foods he will eat. He also demonstrates other sensitivities. (ie he doesn't like going to an amusement park with the exciting rides and loud noises that other children seem to thrive on.) I've also read about food likes and dislikes, and remembered back to when my mother would insist that I sit at the table until I ate my carrots, while they grew cold, and I gagged and would almost throw up.
Apparently dislike for new foods - flavours, textures, etc - when young is a survival technique inherited from our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Little children who wandered around learned not to eat unknown leaves and berries that might make them sick or poison them. Most people, as they grow up, learn to use other means to decide what is fit for human consumption. But often this depends upon the culture a person grows up in.
But children like my grandson do not outgrow their dislikes. He will probably always be a fussy eater who looks for plain foods like meat and potatoes on the menu. Perhaps the acid in tomatoes, or the strong flavour of turnips, really does make them sick, strawberries cause hives, and spiced foods give them migrains.
And others, like myself, simply have dislikes. I still don't like those big, strong tasting carrots that keep all winter, and that my mother boiled up for dinner several times a week. I do like the small yellow/pale orange ones fresh from the garden in the summer - or carrots sticks on a salad plate.
For parents of sensitive eaters, a support group that encourages each other, shares experiences, techniques and recipes is probably a good idea.