I found this really interesting; it placed "picky eating" into an "eating disorder" category (well, not all picky eating). It really resonates with me regarding at least one of my kids.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-pick...have-disorder/

Oh brother.

I'm torn between, "huh, that's an interesting theory" and "oh god, another 'disorder' for people to claim they have," I will admit. And I admit that I pretty much can guess how this thread will go down; half the people will brag that their kids eat everything and the ire half will say their kids won't eat anything. And then Mama wisely admitting that she knows darn well her one kid's non-pickiness is a blessing.

I truly believe, though, that my kid isn't being deliberately defiant when she doesn't eat. It's as if the food were molten lava and she would no more eat that than you would eat someone's gym socks.

I'm with you on this. My oldest is like this. Has been since I started offering him food when he was a few months old. My 13yo is also picky, but it's on a whole different level. If I can actually get her to try a new food, there's a decent chance she'll like it.

I absolutely agree that people with strong aversions and issues with food are not just being "picky" to be contrary

Yes there are true food aversions. Do we need to label it though? What next, an IEP for th kid who hates wheat bread so it is banned from schools?

All I can think of is Ma Hubbard and her kid with the diet of skittles.

Interesting article.

There are definitely kids that cross the line from "picky" to "eating disorder" -- a really clear example of that would be Tiddly's daughter, who was unable/unwilling to eat solid food at the age of 5, I think. They did "feeding therapy" which was pretty unpleasant for everyone involved; it did help some, but IIRC not as much as they'd hoped.

And yeah, my kids will eat anything, because they were born unpicky. Well, Kiera now abstains from duck and rabbit because ducks and rabbits are too cute to eat, and she feels guilty about eating pigs but bacon is too delicious to give up. (I expect her to eventually attempt vegetarianism and fail miserably.)

I have two who will try things and eat a wide variety of foods. I have one who is picky. For thanksgiving, she will eat steamed broccoli and rolls. She doesn't care for turkey, but loves chicken. She will only eat corn if it is on the cob. Potatoes are only eaten as French fries--recently she added tater tots and the pre-made hash brown patties. No stuffing/dressing. No gravy. No cranberries.

She loves pumpkin pie. We are also having chess squares and she will eat those too. She likes pecans, but won't eat pecan pie.

I remember her kid would ONLY eat peanut butter because she was being a fucking asshole about some kid in the class having a severe peanut allergy.

Holy crap what an asshole.

I remember something with skittles too. Peanut butter and skittles. Such a great diet for any human. And yeah, she basically thought her son's love of peanut butter and the fact that he had an IEP should override the fact that some kid could DIE from being around peanut butter. She was such a dick.

I believe that it can go beyond just being picky and is a real issue for a lot a lot a lot of kids and I will the one to say that I am just really grateful that mine are not too picky because I really don't think I would have the patience for it.

I'm wondering if my nieces (12 and 14) are just spoiled, or if their refusal to eat anything but white meat turkey and Stouffer's microwaveable macaroni and cheese yesterday (and every Thanksgiving) is legit.

I've known kids before who outgrew the need for a separate meal of Mac and cheese as they got older and their tastes expanded, but these two don't seem to be.

They don't look like they're disgusted by the rest of the food, they just look spoiled.

I won't eat anything but white meat turkey. I accidentally bought a small turkey instead of a bone-in turkey breast. The dogs are getting the dark meat. I would go without meat before I would eat the dark meat.

I am not picky about Mac and cheese. Unless someone decides to get fancy and put blue cheese in it, that I wouldn't eat.

There are very few things that I won't eat in general. Even my picky eater can usually find something.

If your nieces traditionally have that thanksgiving meal, it isn't like it is difficult for their parents to bring/serve the mac and cheese. It is a common side dish around here, maybe they just prefer that brand.

I won't eat poultry on the bone. It grosses me out.

I am a picky eater. But since I've gotten older I've realized that I probably was picky because a lot of foods give me digestion problems. I'm not saying that is the case but you never know with kids. Maybe they are listening to their bodies?

People at work think I am strange because I don't like to try new foods. Well, it's lunch and I have to work for the rest of the day. So I'll pass thanks.

Not liking dark meat is not an eating disorder. It is a food preference. I don't eat snails, they would make me gag but I don't have a fucking eating disorder.

I'm pretty sure they're just spoiled.

Probably. Put some snails in their stouffer's.