🪶 @thesolo-magpie - Tumblr Blog

A tree does not announce as it grows. It just does so quietly. Gradually. With serenity. No one else must know, as long as the tree itself knows that it’s getting there.

Nicole Addison @thepowerwithin

Need. Need need need.

explicit-enough

you deserve someone who isn’t embarrassed to love you & tells all their friends about u & saves your selfies, & tells u they love & miss you

memeuplift

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briefnightmarefire

#i snorted

dragon-in-a-fez

humans literally evolved to have a heightened sense of taste in childhood because smaller bodies are more sensitive to poison and adults are just like “nah kids are Picky Eaters™ specifically to annoy me”

cwtch-queen

Also certain neurodivergencies can cause kids to be sensitive to certain foods and tastes and textures. That also isn’t just to annoy their parents. We literally can’t help it. If your kid freaks out at certain food, don’t force them to stay at the table until they finish it every night. Just give them different foods. Kids are not bad. They deserve to eat food they like that doesn’t make them sick. Be kind.

aphony-cree

Telling kids their taste buds will change as they grow is a game changer. I’ve known many kids who were yelled at so much for being a picky eater that they dug in their heels, refused to eat certain foods, and never retried them even when they were adults. But explaining how child taste buds are different in an “isn’t that interesting!” way will get the kids into it

Explain the science of taste buds to children, tell them it’s okay they don’t like certain tastes because it means their body is trying to keep them safe, and tell them they might want to retry foods throughout their life because they’ll taste different as they age. Every single time I’ve done this the child has been excited to retry foods as they grow

All kids are scientists. If you tell them it’s okay to experiment with food they’ll be eager to do it

chickenonabicycle

Some foods will also just scare them off because they’re different every time you try them so it’s like a Russian roulette but for your taste buds, and I feel like a lot of parents seem to forget that.

Also undiagnosed allergies and especially intolerances are a thing.

I almost never ate fruit as a kid. Turns out I can’t digest most local fruits unless I take antihistamines first, but I only discovered that as an adult, so I was called picky as a kid because I preferred sugary snacks that don’t make me nauseous over healthy fruits that do.

morwensnonsense

Story time!

So I was raised in a ‘clean plate club’ house. I remember being forced to sit at the table for literal hours because I *could not* choke down canned spinach. Gag reflex every time I tried to take a bite. To this day I can’t even smell it (found out I love it fresh years later, though!).

So when I became a parent I swore I would never do that to my kid. I make him have one ‘try it bite’, and if he’s not into it then that’s okay! Knowing he had that power, he would accept some and reject others. Some were vegetables or fruits, but his biggest turn off? Potatoes.

My dudes, I cried over this. I am Irish American. I grew up eating potatoes literally daily, sometimes at multiple meals. But I realized that, 1) potatoes are not the worst thing for him to dislike - at least he loves most veggies! And 2) because I never forced him to eat them he was more than willing to *keep* trying them! Still not a winner when they’re mashed, but he’ll eat them in things most times.

So now that same son is 12. He was diagnosed with autism along the way, and they warned me that he may react strongly to some food textures. I had already figured this out, and because of our food policies in my house he was never forced to eat anything he couldn’t stomach.

He does eat whatever I make most nights, and he’s an *astonishingly* unpicky eater. But the coolest thing? He’ll try any kind of food. And I mean ANY. I don’t know many Midwestern American kids who are perfectly calm and willing when Mom puts shakshuka on the table. His verdict? It was a bit spicy but he loved it and happily eats it whenever I make it (I make it with sweet paprika now instead of my good spicy paprika).

So guys, when people say the answer to raising a picky kid is not to force them, this is exactly what they mean. Give your kids agency. They may wield that power strongly at first (yeah, he had a phase where he rejected a lot of stuff - I let him choose one dish at dinner to say no to, and then I would make 2 veggies to be sure he at least ate one), but after a while they know what their body craves, and they end up with fewer food issues because of it!

saint-batrick

ALL OF THIS. i used to fall asleep at the table after HOURS of sitting there with food i couldn’t stomach. dad once told me they’d have to swab a finger through my mouth when moving me to my crib bc i’d still have a bite of something in there.

as a grown ass autistic adult, i now have ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder) and food is a barely navigable nightmare for me.

for the love of god, let your kids have preferences!