Kids arent born as picky eaters, its a learned behaviour They were given sugary processed foods at an early age They see their family eating sugary processed foods They were never introduced to real whole foods The early years are when kids develop a relationship with food that will... stay with them their whole lives Prioritizing healthy foods & delaying processed junk food will build healthy eating habits & healthy kidsshow more

I remember getting angry with my wife when she let our oldest have Doritos at a birthday party. Truth is, it’s nearly impossible to prevent them experiencing fake food and it doesn’t take much to change their taste buds. We still feed them healthy foods but it’s harder.

Agreed its a constant battle. My kids are 10&11 and we're constantly talking about our eating habits vs others that they see. We've been having these conversations their whole lives and I don't imagine they'll be going away anytime soon. When you make choices that go against the norm it won't be easy, but that doesn't mean you concede.

My 2 year old daughter’s favorite foods are smoked salmon and steak. I’m a proud dad.

🙌

I agree with the core idea. Kids aren’t born picky, but food preferences are learned through early exposure, family habits, and the food environment around them.

💯 and parents can control all of those things.

I primarily fed my son whole raw foods from 6m onwards. He’s rejected chicken from the first time we tried to give it to him. He’ll eat raw lettuce, kale, pickled onions, black beans… before anything. Children absolutely can have natural preferences.

Sure kids can change their preferences (especially as their taste buds develop and change) but calling them picky or not offering them those foods again is misguided

That isn’t what your post said lol.

The only time my children get junk food was at grandparents house or Sunday school. I got the grandparents to greet the kids with fruit instead of candy and the kids are still happy. Berries are natural candy. I wish church leaders provided fruit for snack time instead of oreos.

Agreed! Its wild how society has deemed high processed sugar foods as a way to celebrate special occasions... like why?

I think we know why. For the people in the back: it's cheap. Poor people buy cheap things. Cheap things make poor people sick. Poor people have taxes pay for their chronic illness. Pharma and food industry pocket taxes. People are generally good and don't understand evil enough.

Kids eat what they’re shown

My youngest son could eat anything until after a “well visit” and shots. Now he has texture issues and will gag eating certain foods even if he truly tries. I agree with you in principle, but it isn’t always a nurture issue.

@bit_smash yes and no.

100% correct. My kids hate junk food because we never eat it. My son’s favourite food was roasted broccoli as a kid. They’re teenagers now & the few times they’ve had McDonalds or KFC when out with their friends it makes them really sick. 🤢

This is true for sure but it can also happen due to mineral and vitamin deficiencies or nervous system dysregulation. Once these areas are balanced the child will typically ask for more foods and be more open to trying more again.

yes, and children can get all those things from eating whole foods. So ideally they'll never be deficient in those things

Also daycares, preschools, and schools, restaurants use a lot of processed foods especially for kids.

Unfortunately this is true. Its up to parents to pack food for their kids and avoid unhealthy restaurants. The alternative is gets are eating food that harms their health.

Yes, but it shouldn’t be that way. All of those should offer healthy whole foods by default. It’s sad.

When my twins were fussy babies, I was just looking for a quick way to calm them; so I handed them some candy. They loved it… and funny enough, they still do in their 30s!

Corn syrup filled formula is the first introduction to processed sugar

I started using this app with my daughter (#4). I wish I had this knowledge with my first 3.

Then how can twins be polar opposites when it comes to their diet - they saw the same behavior from us and introduced to the same things

So how do you encourage to eat more healthily?

I was and still am a picky eater. We weren’t allowed junk food growing up so,that’s not the cause. It’s believed that we have more tastebuds than others which makes foods taste stronger. I wish I liked foods that most people do. It’s not a choice for me.

Being a picky eater is inherited. PLEASE PEOPLE, do research before you believe some random stranger on social media. New research shows genetics may play a role. 🙄😐

Nope. False.

Any advice how to change already ingrained bad habits?

@TheVee_Girlie