PA Children that are Picky Eaters?

Wow Cindy, have you been reading my mind?? LOL. Wade is the worst as far as eating habbits. It got so bad last year that when he came down with a run of the mill stomach virus, he ended up in the hospital for over a week. Turns out his biggest problem was anemia, and he got extremely sick because of it. Now he takes an iron supplement as well as a multi vitamin. Wade NEVER eats 3 meals a day. I'm lucky if he eats 2. He does not drink more than he should (some kids fill up on milk & juice then don't wan't to eat) so there is no reason for his lack of appetite. I think if I tried I could name 10 foods he "likes". I think alot of it has to do with PA. Dr. Ham Pong has told me in the past that if he shows a dislike for a particulas food I should never force him to eat it as it may be allergy related. Foods Wade likes: pancakes, waffles, eggs (sometimes), toast and molasses or jam, apples, banana's, nutrigrain bars and minigo yogurt. He flat our refuses to eat meat and most veggies except for maybe carrots and cucumber. He won't eat his cereal with milk either. Some days I wan't to bang my head against the wall I find it soooooooo frustrating trying to get him to eat something! Sound like someone you know??

Regards,

Katiee (Wade's mom)

Cindy,

I noticed as Bobby gets older & sees what other children ARE NOT eating he tends to say he doesn't like certain things anymore.
He use to eat everything from brussel sprouts to dill cheese(everyone loved to watch him eat because for a child he ate anything).

I make broccoli every night just so he eats a vegetable, he tells me that is the only vegetable he will eat. He use to eat homemade sauce with spaghetti now all of a sudden he doesn't like it. I tried a new method if you don't eat, you are going to bed,(I mean it).

My daughter is very picky & every night I give her what the family is eating, if she doesn't eat too bad. It works for me because, she has eaten the same meal say a week later or so.

If either one of them truly dislikes something I do not make them eat it, nothing is worse than being force fed.( If someone made me eat spinach I'd throw it at them).

I hope some of my suggestions help. Good Luck

Ronna

Katiee, yes, it does sound like someone I know, right down to the part when they get the stomach flu! Jesse has been hospitalized in the past when he had the flu and this summer he lost 4 pounds in 4 days when he got it and he seemed to have it for 2 weeks. His sister, on the other hand, didn't get it 'til almost the last few days and didn't drop any weight at all. 21 months between them in age and 1 pound difference in weight! I often wish, especially when he's sick that he had some more weight on him to perhaps ward off these things. I'm not even sure that his food list is as extensive as Wade's! LOL!
Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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Cindy, My son is actually my best eater in the house. This kid liked sardines as a 5 year old. He loves all vegitables "that he can have". he loves fruit and things he knows he can have obviously. he has never been big on sweets,but that is fine because I make up for him there.

Cindy, My son is actually my best eater in the house. This kid liked sardines as a 5 year old. He loves all vegitables "that he can have". he loves fruit and things he knows he can have obviously. he has never been big on sweets,but that is fine because I make up for him there. He gets mad at my daughter when she doesn't like what we are having for dinner. Even as a baby he was the best eater. now of course at 14 he could eat us out of house. The only thing is he watches his wait and that is good because I think with his lungs that is important. Well enough about his eating. I just made a tin of brownies and my 2 year old just asked for the knife to cut them. I guess that is my sign to go. Take care Claire

Speaking of brownies, Claire, does anyone know if the One Step Pillsbury ones are "safe" in Canada? Baker and recipe user that I am! LOL! Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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My pa son used to be an unbelievable eater. He would eat anything. . .and a lot of it. But looking at his weight, you would never know it. He started getting "choosy" when he was around 2 1/2. I brought this up with the pediatrician and she said that they don't need as much as we think they do. She said that if you can get 1 meal into a 2 year old within a 24 hour time frame, you were doing pretty good.

Now my non pa son is exactly the same as my older son. He is an absolute pig. He just turned 18 months old and he weighs 20 lbs. Per the pediatrician, he's not even on the "charts" anymore. She said to try to get him to eat more. I do not know how that is possible. He eats 3 times as much as my 3 yr old. Kind of interesting.

Cayley is not generally picky, but she is soooo slow to finish her meal. She will sit there with food in her mouth for 5 minutes, not chewing! She is pretty skinny, so I wish she could pack more in, but we would be sitting with her at the table ALL DAY saying 3 more bites, honey!

Anyway, the other reason I'm posting, is I find this related to the thread in Living With PA - "Is PA Related to Growth Potential?". I emailed FAN to see if they were aware of any studies on this, and this is the response I got today:

"I'm sorry, I'm not able to point you to any such studies. Failure to thrive is sometimes seen in children with food allergies, but I suspect it's more often associated with children who are allergic to milk and soy. However, that's pure speculation on my part."

Debbie Scherrer, Member Communications [url="http://www.foodallergy.org/"]www.foodallergy.org/[/url]

So, studies haven't been done on the underweight PA children that some of us have, but I agree with katiee and her doctor, that pickiness may have something to do with an allergy. I wonder if FAN is aware of any studies on this? Guess I'll just have to email them one more time...

I am a really picky eater - right down to how well I like my toast to be done!! I never ask people to cook for me, and those that do will only do pasta or chicken for me. I hate nearly all vegitables and meat (except chicken) and I'm not too much of a fruit eater (and I wonder why I'm so tired all the time!!).

Eva (non pa) is such a great eater. She'll eat ANYTHING and she'll often have 5 meals on a Saturday - I don't know where she puts it all! She loves dry pasta and rice, but she packs away the garlic bread like nobody's business (she can even outdo my dad).

My PA son is a very picky eater!!!! There are few foods that he likes to eat (though he is getting better) but he eats what he likes all the time! I agree with the post above about when kids strongly dislikes a particular food they may be allergic to it. He absolutely hates everything and anything with citrus or strawberries.

My non PA son is not a picky eater. He will eat anything and everything in our house but he eats very little of it. He is extremely lactose intolerant (a quarter of a piece of cheese will give him diarhea) but has no other documented food allergies (he has one but we can not pin point it). He never eats more then two meals a day and he does not snack much. Actually, in the last 4 days (he has had some kind of reaction) he has eaten four meals. He is very skinny for his age but he is happy!

[img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] Sorry, I bring up the Smarties and Penpals threads on almost a daily basis, so I decided to bring three up to-day. It just seems as though the board has become obscured by other things than discussion the last few days (I think it has something to do with the confusion over the Presidential election [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/biggrin.gif[/img] )
Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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[This message has been edited by Cindy Spowart Cook (edited November 10, 2000).]

I just had another thought. Of the PA children that ARE picky eaters, and we have determined that some aren't, how many of the PA picky eaters were considered colicky as babies? I don't know why this just crossed my brain.

My PA son, who is a picky eater, and in the 40th percentile of weight for his age, was also colicky when he was a baby, even after he stopped breastfeeding.

My non-PA daughter (I'm sorry, I'm still getting used to typing that, having just found out), is not a picky eater, is 21 months younger than her brother and weighs ONE # less, and was not colicky as a baby.

I didn't think this warranted a whole new thread, but, any thoughts? Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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Hi Cindy--
I just asked you on one of the other topics whether or not your child was a picky eater. Low and behold, you had already listed this topic elsewhere! I am new to this site so am still learning (still trying to figure out what a "smarty" and "thread" is! Anyway, my PA son, who is a picky eater, really wasn't collicky I would say, but he was one who never would freely go to people, even as an infant. He is quick to hold on my leg and be shy. I thought when he was around 5 months he was maybe collicky, but it ended up that he was having a lot of ear infections. I wonder also if other PA kids have had a lot of ear infections. Probably another topic I could start a discussion on!

Jodi, that is a really good question you have raised and I believe YOU should start a thread. I have my answer post as soon as I see it! I'm not saying a thing here! Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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Picky eaters are so widespread in our culture that I think it's b/c of the way we raise them, catering to their tastes, carrying snacks and drinks for them everywhere we go, giving them adorable little snacks in the shape of fish and teddy bears...Also, they get too much sugar and that interferes with appetite. In my husband's culture (Arabian) there's no between meal snacking and meals are a big family and social event. Sweets are for rare occasions (if dessert is served it's generally fruit). At his family events the little kids dig into their eggplant and zucchini with gusto and ask for seconds while my kids sit there and whine about which foods are touching which. When kids are hungry they eat. I think ours just don't ever really get that hungry. (I'm not criticizing anyone--I see it as a cultural thing, and I load my kids up with junk between meals, too!)

My 7 year old PA and egg-allergic son is the greatest eater and my 5 year old non-PA daughter is the picky one in our family. He has a great appetite and eats very healthy foods--I have to buy cauliflower, cabbage and brocolli for example to keep this guy happy, and he'd rather eat strawberries than candy or junk food! Of course he likes junk food too (all that salt and sugar!), but he's always been a healthy eater with a tremendous appetite. My non PA daughter is very picky and would live on chocolate and marshmallows if we let her--sometimes I wonder if she is so picky because she's grown up with us being so careful about food and this is her way of making a stand.

I do feel (and this was brought up on another post) that our children tend to eat generally much healthier diets than the general population because we're avoiding processed foods more. I know I don't feed them anything if the ingredient list is too long and artificial sounding, even if it doesn't contain any of my son's allergens. I think I've become pickier because I'm more aware of ingredients and have realized how much artificial flavor/color/preservatives are in so many packaged products.

Jodi, I still haven't seen that VERY good thread started yet! C'mon! People are sick of seeing my name as the constant thread starter and I know a lot of them simply moan and bypass otherwise good questions! C'mon.
Or, do I have to challenge you, as I did Tkiaml once, and give her 24 hours to post or what? Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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Simply re-raising! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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I'm lying in bed whirling (which I often do at this time of night, but more so tonight because I have now been 48 hours and 17 minutes without a cigarette - no congrats yet, please), and started to think about my still very picky eater Jesse (PA) and how he was when he was a baby.

With baby food (and I know it has even progressed substantially since then in the number of flavours, things you get to try, organic-ness of it, etc.), Jesse was able to try every kind of baby food that came out or was on the shelf - the broccoli and cheese sauce, the this and that. I think you get my drift.

We went through each of the stages of introducing food to Jesse as really told by our doctor I guess and also by Gerber! He did continue to eat baby food up until the age of 18 months.

I have to say that I can't remember a specific thing that he absolutely hated and would not eat. It was ME that had difficulties buying the veal for him to try.
I can't remember him ever flat out refusing a food (now, of course, my memory could have failed me).

My daughter, on the other hand, we left Toronto when she was six months old and the one grocery store in town only offered what I consider the basics of baby food. So, she didn't get to consume the wonderful combos that Jesse did. When she was starting to eat big people food, I remember her having difficulty that Jesse didn't have, she would throw it up very easily. My MIL suggested that we blend her food up more, more the consistency of baby food, and it did work. But again, Ember never got to try the wonderful array of baby foods out there. Jesse did.

Ember is now a wonderful eater and will try anything. Jesse, I feel, will be my constant worry when it comes to food and food consumption.

The connection I made tonight and I'm trying to explore though is that Jesse didn't become a picky eater until after he had his first (though not anaphylactic) reaction. Was it coincidental that he started to eat *big people* food the same month that he had his first reaction? Does his subconscious remember this?

I'm just trying to explore different food and psychological issues re PA, simply for Jesse and I. This morning we had another *incident* re PA, Jesse thinking that he was having a reaction when there was nothing he could be having a reaction to. I have to re-raise (at a more suitable hour), williamsmummy's thread on her little guy getting anxiety attacks. I can see it coming with Jesse and I am just so saddened (I know what to do should he start having them, I think, but will post about it here for advice, of course, but saddened, heart broken regardless).

Jesse was NOT a picky eater baby. He became a picky eater child.

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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Interesting thread...thanks for re-raising it.

My 2 1/2 year old PA daughter was similar. We thought we had the world's easiest-to-feed child when she was a baby. I got that book I think it was called "Super Baby Food" and made my own oatmeal, mixed it with pureed spinach, broccoli, Brewer's Yeast, wheat germ, etc., etc. She would eat anything we gave her and seemed to love it all. She had her first reaction at about 18 months that went basically unnoticed by us (had the imprint of a noodle on her face that had been covered with chopped peanuts in a Thai food dish), but her her first major reaction was around 2 years of age. Now she is a very picky eater. I don't really remember when she started to become picky, but it probably was around the time she started having "table" food. We now have a very hard time getting protein into her, which I think is interesting given the high protein content of peanuts. Sometimes I just put her in front of the TV and "feed" her pieces of chicken, which I know is a very bad habit to get her into, but she just won't eat much or any protein unless being highly distracted by the TV, a book , etc.

I guess I'm lucky that my son (PA/TNA) is a good eater. He likes variety and has a great appetite. I used to think he was a picky eater as a baby, often spitting things out and unwilling to try new things. He goes in phases - we named them as he got older and would get stuck on them for some time ( the sandwich phase, the pizza phase, the chicken phase).
I offer him healthy meals, and most times he cleans up his plate. The odd time he'll say that "there is no way I'm eating these potatoes" - but I know if I put a bowl of rice in front of him, he'd devour it. So, I tend to cook rice a lot more often than potatoes. Catering to his likes, I guess....
We find it strange that he dislikes most fast food - won't eat McDonald burgers, Mc Nuggets ( though he loves chicken) - can't stand the french fries.... We usually end up ordering him a muffin and some milk, then giving him something more substantial when we get home!
He'll eat my rice, but not the rice in a Chinese restaurant ( he'll only eat what I bring from home - I think because he's heard DH and I talk about the types of oils that may be used in Chinese cooking)
After reading some of the posts of thosse who struggle to get their kids to eat - I realize we're lucky.
Take care-
mae

Simply re-raising since my soon to be 7 year old seems to be the pickiest eater on the planet. His non-PA sister, on the other hand, will at least try any food that she is offered. She's 21 months younger than him but the same height as him almost and definitely weighs at least 10 pounds more than he does.

I am seriously thinking of raising a thread in Off Topic re nutritional supplements because I added up as best I could the number of calories Jesse ingested yesterday and it's barely enough to keep a bird alive, never mind my beautiful young boy. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/frown.gif[/img]

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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My dd is a very picky eater! She is 5'3" and weighs about 80 pounds. She is way too thin. She has many food allgeries and is is flat our scared to eat. My oldest son is not very picky, there are some things he refuses to eat, just to be a pain. My youngest son is like his sister. If she can't eat it, he won't either. I really hate cooking!! Dd will eat sugary things. If I make something and force her to try it, if she likes it, she will eat it for days and beg me to make it again. She is scared to eat. Makes me want to pull my hair out.

Connielynn, I know that your daughter is older than Jesse (he's 7 to-day). Has she always been a picky eater that you can remember?

Jesse, I have to say, seems to be getting worse and worse. Now, the only time that I can't remember him being a picky eater is when he was a baby and when he was a toddler.
These times, unfortunately, also correlate to pre-anaphylactic reactions. So, I'm not clear if his picky eating is connected to his having had anaphylactic reactions or not (I did raise this as a separate question - could he have a psychological fear of food?).

The difficulty I have with this is that Jesse knows that ALL of the food in our home is safe for him to consume. I would feel better about him being picky if say he wasn't eating food at other people's houses (even if it was Grandma's or something). But, it's at home, where the food is guaranteed 100% safe that he is becoming more and more picky.

Last night, we have spaghetti for dinner. He tells me that he doesn't like spaghetti anymore. I swear that I am still putting on his plate the size of serving that I would have given him when he was 2 years old. And, he had difficulty getting that down, even though I refused an after school (before dinner) snack. His sister, of course, had twice the amount of food on her plate and ate it.

A couple of nights before it was hamburgers.
He said he doesn't like hamburgers anymore.

Now, if I feed him junk all day long, full of sugar, he will eat it. But I'm not going to do that obviously.

I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner tonight and he said tacos. I'm going to see how those go down.

Oh, and we get the pizza crusts and sauce pre-packaged where you put on your own toppings - doesn't like that anymore.

He simply does not like any food that I place in front of him and his Father and I are getting very upset about it.

I try every night to have a really nice time at the dinner table with each of us talking about our favourite part of the day, but they always seem to be ending up now with fighting with Jesse to eat his dinner.

What bothers me even more is that you can see he is not gaining weight. His sister and him are wearing the same clothes now. He's still wearing the same clothes he was wearing two years ago. I am absolutely beside myself. I feel like he's wasting away in front of me and I can't seem to do anything about it.

And then there's the thing, does it even have anything to do with him being PA? What is it about? His Father has said that if he continues this way we're going to have to take him to the doctor.

Have to go. Have a Drama Queen downstairs yelling for help.

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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Boy do I hear you guys! My dd has such a limited palate at the moment and it gets worse all the time, it seems. Dinner last night was a scene because I served her a new shape of chicken nugget. She is 3. I will be tough and offer her three choices in front of her that I know she likes as much as anything. She will not want it. She later snacks on some dry Cheerios watching TV. So much of her diet is laced with sugar. I talked to her ped. last week, since we were in there for an ear infection. Her appetite has been so poor with all these colds. I asked how skinny can a kid get and still be okay. He said there is not much to do. A nutritionist can offer tricks and recipies to get calories and nutrition in, but I really know and have tried all the tricks.

Won't touch pasta, might eat one or two bites of rice, only eats soy butter and chicken nuggets for protein, milk, cereals, pancakes, and is allergic to eggs as well, so these things all are egg free. No sauces or cheese. Nothing green. Occasional fresh fruit or fruit cups. Yogurt. That is the menu. Oh, crackers and pretzels. Of course no trouble with cookies and cupcakes and candy!

It is very frustrating and such a worry at times. becca

I am so glad to hear others that have the picky eater child as well. I was beginning to wonder where I went wrong. My PA son just turned 3 and he too as a baby ate all stages of baby food as recommenced by his doctor but once I introduced solid foods he turned into the most pickest eater. This was even before we knew about his PA. His first allergic reaction was my mother tring to get him to eat peanut butter on some toast and since then it has not gotten any better. When he begins preschool next week I am going to be embarrassed because of what I pack in his lunch. His whole diet consists of chicken, tater tots, chips, french fries, bologna, plain noodles and strawberry yogurt. It's a good thing he weighed 10 lbs at birth because between his 2nd and 3rd birthday he only gained 4lbs. His dr insists it's normal but I can only hope when he sees other kids eating a variety of food that he might turn around.
Thanks for sharing your stories and confirming my child is not alone.
Joyce

I am the allergy laden person in my family, so both my DH and DS are non-pa, but I thought you might like some input from that perspective.

My Husband is a VERY picky eater. He eats ham, chicken, turkey, prawns, white fish, pasta, bread, veggie burgers, cereal (but then only Corn Flakes and Raisin Bran), honey, and coffee. Rarely does he eat veggies (only if I hide them in the dish), almost never fruit. My son on the other hand eats anything and everything. Maybe because although my husband has very specific likes and dislikes, he will eat what I make regardless. I generally cater to his tastes anyhow, and don't make roast beef ever for dinner, but I do make a large variety of foods (tacos, chili, pizza, lasange, etc) and he generally eats it all. Things like rice, any beef or pork, or certain kinds of dishes he won't touch.

I really think that the reason my son is very good about food is that for him, we made sure to never, ever make food a big deal (if he eats fine, if not, fine, he will when he's hungry)...but he ALWAYS must eat the healthy food before he gets dessert or the more non-healthy food choices. For instance, if he doesn't eat his sandwhich in his lunch and only eats the dessert, then he won't get the desserts until he can prove he'll be eating his sandwhich. I also get him really involved in cooking and planning meals, he shops with me, stirs and bakes things, and chooses things for his lunch. (he's 6) He gets LOTS of choice for what he eats. Those choices though are very carefully limited to mostly things that are good for him. I consider myself very lucky that he's as good about food as he is. The only things he will NOT eat are mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, beef....and I can't think of any more.

I am so glad that you raised this thread, Cindy, and I am sure that I have noted on other posts that my 5 yr old is extremely picky and will not try new foods.

My 2 1/2 yr old can also seem to be picky since he follows whatever his big brother does!!

My picky eater will eat: cereal, crackers, cookies, waffles, pancakes, bread, pudding, juice, milk, cheese, PIZZA (his best meal!) etc

However, he has started to add to this list!!!!! I think there is hope!! I made a point to let the food thing go, don't stress over it anymore. I tell myself he will eat when he is hungry; and I hope he will choose more nutritious foods. He started to eat yogurt, noodles/pasta with sauce and cheese, eggs, french toast, mac & cheese, grilled cheese, grapefruit and oranges, orange juice, spaghetti....

I guess this is a start...I am still waiting for the day he decides to eat chicken, meat, fruit, veggies....

Oh yeah, I have also tried to hide things when baking, I made pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes etc and put bananas in them...he loved these homemade treats... I think you have to continue to be creative with this stuff, it is alot of work , and our picky eaters seem to pick up on every trick we try...Kids are so smart! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

My son is an extremely picky eater. He only really eats a few things. He is 18 and has been this way forever. I assume it is due to his food allergies and I respect him because I've seen him so sick so many times. I figure he got this pickiness from G-D to protect him from eating something deadly and I thank G-D every day I am allowed to keep my son.

I actually cried the day he first tasted spaghetti and that was just a few weeks ago.

peggy

My daughter (5 years)is somewhat a picky eater. She (and I) refuse to eat peas -- which I consider a good thing as they are a legume and I feel that this may be a sensitivity related to PA.

My daughter has her favorites but doesn't like to try 'new' foods. Getting her to eat veggies are difficult.

So far, my son (3 years)is a wonderful eater. He too has his favorites but will try new foods. He loves to eat mushrooms since we told him they make him grow. Sometimes we get our daughter to eat mushrooms when we tell her that her brother will grow taller than her because he eats them.

I do not like to push my children to finish all the food on their plate or to try new foods. I believe you should eat what you like and stop when you have had enough. When I was young, I remember sitting at the kitchen table because I HAD to finish all the food on my plate (especially PEAS).

This is an interesting thread because it would never cross my mind to even think about whether my kids are picky eaters. Like most kids, if allowed to eat junk food they will, and if instead they are only allowed to choose between healthy foods they eat healthy foods. We don`t really keep any junk food in the house. They eat when they are hungry and don`t eat when they are not hungry which again is what everyone needs to do in order to have a normal body weight, and not spend their adulthood battling obesity. Some days they eat three meals, some days they eat one meal, which again is because thankfully they don`t eat unless they are hungry. I am happy that up until now they have eating habits that won`t predispose them toward obesity because they don`t eat unless they are hungry. I`m having trouble understanding why anyone on here would even care or think about whether their child is a picky eater with all the bigger things we all have to worry about (peanuts at a birthday party, 504 not being followed, family serving nuts at Christmas dinner, etc., etc.).

In response to Marizona: "I`m having trouble understanding why anyone on here would even care or think about whether their child is a picky eater with all the bigger things we all have to worry about (peanuts at a birthday party, 504 not being followed, family serving nuts at Christmas dinner, etc., etc.)."

Why care about whether your child is a picky eater? -- just a topic for discussion for those who care to add to it -- I guess.

[This message has been edited by Codyman (edited January 01, 2003).]

Well, I find it unfortunate, because my dd eats a diet that is very poorly balanced on one hand. She will not touch a single vegetable at this point, and not even fresh fruit at times, but generally there is a single fresh fruit item du jour. Basically will not try anything new unless it is cake, cookie or candy!

The upside is she cares little about eating and truly does follow her cues for hunger, at least if addictive sweet type foods are not offered. I am happy that food does not generally have a great importance to her, other than she will nibble something if she is hungry. Seems to bode well for weight control. It also means she really, so far, does not care about being allergic to things. She just accepts it and avoids the obvious and obeys well(at 3) about not taking food without checking, etc... The pickiness has certainly made dealing with the safety aspects of food allergy easier.

Conversely, the food allergy makes dealing with the pickiness more difficult.

I have seen it said that we create picky eaters, but refuse to accept it so sweepingly. My dd ate a wide variety of exclusively healthful and homemade foods as we introduced them, and loved most veggies, but always small amounts, even when nursing, was more of a frequent nibbler. She slowly has knocked them off the list one by one!

Those are reasons why I care. becca

I believe that most kids who are allowed to have cake, candy, and cookies will prefer those to vegetables and will refuse vegatables if they know that if they hold out long enough they will get the cake and cookies. I have always offered my kids a choice of two or three vegetables, and told them there will be no sweets unless they eat the vegetables. Hence they eat the vegetables. If I didn`t do that, I am sure they would choose the cookies over the broccoli like most kids.

Codyman, thank-you for your last post. It was excellent and very well put. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

The reason I asked the question to begin with (and I guess, if one wanted to, they could put a similar comment about every question I ask because I do ask a litany of what may be considered off-beat, not in the big picture, questions), was because I do notice a distinct difference between my PA son's eating habits and my non-PA daughter's eating habits.

Could it simply be that they are the two different little individuals that they are?
Certainly! One is very mathematically inclined, computer savvy, etc. The other is extremely creative.

So, yes, it could simply be part and parcel of having two very different children.

However, I do believe that my PA son's pickiness in his eating is somehow related to PA. It's not a *big* deal, but I feel it is somehow related and at this point in time, I can't even explain how or why.

And again, simply a question for discussion.
That's why I asked Nicole Smith from [url="http://www.allergicchild.com"]www.allergicchild.com[/url] if I could raise her questions from her website when they became available. They may not also be part of the "big" picture re PA (although I'm not even clear what that is, I find the day-to-day living with it what I'm dealing with), but they are questions that someone out there has thought to raise and actually keep track of the answers.

I think exploring different things here is interesting (of course that's just my humble opinion - I know that there are many members that don't partake in the exploration type questions and that's fine). One I found interesting last week, for example, was whether your PA child had ever used soy formula and if there was a co-relation. A very interesting question and simply something to explore and discuss.

I've been a member for almost 3 years now and my soul, if we didn't explore things here, what would we be doing?

Codyman, I wish I had been able to say it as succinctly and nicely as you just did. The thing is, with this website, the same as with your television, if you don't like what's on, or you don't want to join in a certain thread, don't. Bypass it.

I learn a lot from being here. I learn a lot from raising questions and I also learn a lot from answering other members' questions. It's a continual learning process for me, which I hope, will help my son.

I have also gotten, particularly over the last few months, so much caring, concern, and encouragement that it will never be forgotten. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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I have a rule with my dd that she has to try one bite of something new. Then if she doesn`t like it she doesn`t have to eat it. That has worked very well for us. It has been a big joke betweeen us because two things she was sure she wouldn`t like, she loves. One is chopped olive sandwiches. She was sure she wouldn`t like them, and actually would probably eat them for lunch and dinner every day if I let her. I am pretty careful about what I make her try though. For example, I think brussel sprouts are disgusting and I would never make her try those. I found that the best time to get vegetables in is when we first get home from school and she is starving. A lot of times I give her raw baby carrots and onion dip as a snack(using veganase as she is milk and egg allergic), and that way she gets her veggie for the day. I really don`t care if she doesn`t eat a lot of different kinds of vegetables, as long as she eats one or two kinds. They seem to rotate, for a few months she loves broccoli, then she doesn`t. For a few months she loves salad, then she doesn`t. But as long as I can get her to eat one vegetable a day, I am satisfied.

Cindy, thank you for your thoughtful and polite response to Codyman. Please let me add something.

We are all looking for reasons, for threads, for any explanation as to why our children are given this challenge of PA.

Any topic, if it gives enlightenment to just one reader, is a fine topic.

Peggy

Cindy, Your Welcome!

I love to read the posts here sometimes I choose to reply other times not. To each their own.

Hello everyone

I have a picky eater little v.

She eats only baby carrots,Lays classic potatoe chips,baked or boiled chicken greenbeans,peas beleive or not,with no reaction,corn,corn chips,gerbermeat sticks,mashed or baked potatoes,every now and then mozzarola cheese sticks.

She only drinks Motts applejuice,and fresh apples,peaches,bannas,strawberrys,every now and then mandrian oranges only delmonty or dole.

Thats about all she will eat.

Her twin brothe is a pickey eater to.

He just had some allery test done will know in a week all the results.

Love this site
Synthia

Wow, that doesn`t sound picky to me at all! That sounds like a pretty normal diet for a child that age. I guess it is all in the eye of the beholder!

Quote:Originally posted by Marizona:
I`m having trouble understanding why anyone on here would even care or think about whether their child is a picky eater with all the bigger things we all have to worry about (peanuts at a birthday party, 504 not being followed, family serving nuts at Christmas dinner, etc., etc.). [/B]

One reason many people on this board worry about their children being "picky eaters" is that they are dealing with multiple food allergies. When you combine what is already eliminated for them in addition to what children eliminate for themselves, it becomes a significant problem. In addition, many children have oral motor issues, which makes many food textures problematic.

BTW, this may shock you but even parents who do everything "right" and only offer their children healthy choices can end up with picky eaters as well. It is not unusual for children who eat almost anything when they are young to start eliminating food choices as they get older - particularly if they hear friends describe something as "icky". We can only hope that they will revert to better habits when they grow up.

Also, a caution about "picky" habits in food allergic children. In some cases, I think this is very protective, and when my son's pickiness goes beyond the usual, I have learned to take notice. Two examples of things he absolutely would not try until I really forced the issue were hummus and almond milk. You guessed it - he's allergic to chick peas and tree nuts. He was not even two and smarter than I was.

Finally, while every post doesn't seem relevant to me at the time, I'm always glad to read them. Often I'll end up referring to them later, when situations change.

Amy

Very well written Amy, thank you.

One very difficult thing my son faces is othe people trying to get him to try a new food. Ever since he was very small he would say "No thank-you but you go ahead and enjoy it." This poor kid had to develop defenses to other people as well as to dangerous foods.

I think if he were not so picky he might not be alive today, and he was a picky eater way before we found out about his food allergies.

His "Pickiness" prevented him from ever taking a bite out of the PBJ sandwich I offered him at least once a week until we found out he had food allergies.

As Amy said, I consider that SMART.

Peggy

Going Nuts and Peg541, your posts, in particular to-day (although I know there were other people as well who posted similar things) have me thinking again about whether our children instinctively know they're allergic. I've already raised that question somehere, of course [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/rolleyes.gif[/img]

I know, for me, I thought of it because Jesse was the type of baby and toddler that I could take into a grocery store and he would NEVER grab the open cookie bins or anything else. It was if he *knew*. Ember, on the other hand, my back would be turned getting something off the shelf and there her hand was, in the cookie bin. Jesse is PA, Ember isn't. I just found this interesting.

The other thing that I couldn't understand about the comment that was made about this thread being raised in the first place (and actually, it is quite old if you look at the original date of it), was that out of the three things that were mentioned as being part of the person's *bigger* picture, I'm really only dealing with one of those things - a written school plan not being followed. I don't have to worry about peanuts at birthday parties and I don't have to worry about peanuts at family functions. I would, however, try to help another member who did have to worry about such things (as I believe I tried with Connielynn with her Thanksgiving and Christmas threads).

However, I do have to worry about a child that is an extremely picky eater and it is something I deal with on a daily basis that can become extremely frustrating or even downright scary.

I have seen a lot of questions raised on this board and I have never questioned the validity of any question that has been raised. Codyman, as you mentioned, you may not always post a reply to a question, it is to each his/her own, but I do believe we have the respect to recognize that everyone has the right to ask whatever question they care to ask here.

I personally don't feel that there is ANY question re PA that is too stupid. If it has crossed someone's mind and they need an answer to it, it's not a stupid question. If the answers they get here gives them the information to keep their PA child safer, absolutely wonderful! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

I guess I just found it strange that a thread about picky eaters could be a thread "gone wrong". We haven't had one of those in a long time and it's usually about something a heckuva lot more contentious than picky eaters. However.

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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Well, my older son w/o food allergies is much more picky than my younger son with multiple food allergies. My younger son's diet is quite restricted, but he eats and enjoys most everything else. My older son, on the other hand, has many more foods that he just does not like. I don't force particular foods, but insist that he have a balanced diet (he can choose the fruits or veg. that he would like to eat; mainly green beans and apples). I try to bake breads like pumpkin and zucchini bread or carrot cake, which the kids really like, to add a little extra nutrition into our diets. Who would want to be forced to eat something that tastes bad to them? Not me! By the way, he ate everything as a young child, less variety from 3-6yrs, and now at 8yrs is expanding his diet. For my kids, at least, I think that it is personality, and not food allergies as the reason. They are the same with clothing selection, in that older ds (no fa's) has always been incredibly selective, only wearing certain types of clothes, and younger ds (with fa's) is happy with most anything.

CarefulMom,
Could you tell me what you use for your onion dip? and what is Veganese? I would love to make a safe vegetable dip for my son, who is also milk and egg allergic (and pn,tn).

Happy New Year! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Andrea

Well, it is not much of a recipe, but here it is. I buy Laura Scudder`s Toasted Onion Dip Mix. It is a brown powder that comes in a little envelope (1/2 ounce). Veganaise is imitation mayonaise that has no milk or egg (or peanuts or tree nuts). There are several different kinds. We buy the original, so honestly I haven`t read the ingredients on the other kinds. The bottle says Follow Your Heart Original Vegenaise Dressing and Sandwich Spread. It doesn`t taste exactly like mayonaise, it is a little bland, but I use it to make tuna salad, chicken salad fake egg salad (from tofu), and some other things. Anyhow for the "onion dip", all I do is put a couple of large spoonfuls (maybe 1/4 or 1/2 cup total?) in a bowl and pour in some of the onion dip powder (maybe 1/4 of the package), and stir until it is all mixed in. You can taste it and see if it needs more onion or if it has too much onion and needs more veganaise. This has been a great substitute for us, because it seems like a like of birthday parties here, one of the foods is veggies and dip. We bring our own, and this way dd is eating almost the same as the other kids. It is really pretty tasty. Another thing that is great is to buy a can of chopped olives, and and veganaise, stir it up, put it on bread, and make a chopped olive sandwich. We love those! Veganaise isn`t sold in the regular stores here; it is sold at health food stores like Whole Foods and Wild Oats. A few days ago I had a seafood salad with real mayonaise, and I had forgotten how eggy the real mayonaise is. I never really noticed that until I had eaten vegenaise for five years!

I look at it this way. If my son eats certain foods he can die. Very quickly too! If he does not want to eat something then more power to him for being discriminating since he has to be discriminating the entire rest of his life!

I always thought his pickiness was a gift from G-d and I'm thankful he is picky.

No, he is not fun to cook for and he cannot eat in most restaurants or in other people's homes. But he is the most wonderful son I could ask for and I'll give up my life to keep him safe.

Peggy

Peg541, welcome, by the way! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] Also, right on with your post! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] Wonderfully put.

I think, for me, what I find frustrating is that my son is PA only. It is not as though we are dealing with more than one food allergy here and I know that each and every item in my home is safe and it's pretty easy for us to eat out even in relative safety. That's what I find difficult about Jesse being a picky eater. However, you've given me a new take on it..... [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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Hi, I found this thread and had to reply my DS is very picky actually Katiee hit the nail on the head right down to the cereal without milk.

Has anyone had to do testing to as why they are not gaining weight? My DS has been the same weight since May and height since Sept. 3yrs old 24 pounds. We had to blood tests, an X-ray, even a test for CF(I don't know anyone with it and the only sympton is no weight gain) is scheduled. My pediatrician is very cautious which is good but can't help but be worried. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/frown.gif[/img]

Hi mattchrismom

I to have twins
1 girl she was first to be delivered and is
the PA,and weight is now 29lb at 3 1/2 yo
The boy is not PA,and is 28lb.
They both are very pickey eaters.
Weird right,watching them both closely.
Love this site
Synthia