Goodness knows, it’s not easy to feed children. Some days, they might not be in the mood for pancakes, when it was all they could eat for a month before; other times they change their mind about apples, which are no longer tasty, or throw a temper tantrum after you serve them anything that is not mac and cheese, which they just said they didn’t want.
Even though this redditor’s 5yo son wasn’t seemingly that difficult or as picky as many kids are, the dad decided to get him McDonald’s nevertheless when he saw his boy picking at his plate at a dinner party. His actions resulted in getting the cold shoulder from his wife and consequently asking the ‘Ask Reddit’ community if he was a jerk in the situation.
Children are often served different food from that which the rest of the family is eating
Image credits: levinajuli/Envato elements (not the actual photo)
This 5yo was picking at his plate at a dinner party, so his dad went to get him some McDonald’s
Image credits: TatyanaOt/Envato elements (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Michael Ocampo/Flickr (not the actual photo)
Image credits: According_Owl6048
Being somewhat of a fussy eater is a normal phase of kids’ development
Image credits: Alex Green/Pexels (not the actual photo)
Until they reach a certain age (which tends to differ with each little one), it might be difficult to find things children would gladly eat that are not plain pasta, fries, or something with the nutritional value of a piece of cardboard.
Research on persistent picky eaters suggests that the period of refusing to eat certain foods is a normal phase of development, the prevalence of which tends to decrease at around the age of five. However, with some kids, such eating habits can persist into adolescence. (According to said research, three is the worst age regarding the “I won’t eat that” kind of situations.)
Other studies found that picky eating on kids’ part might lead to negative effects on their growth, nutritional status and health, development, and physical activity. Bearing in mind that fussy eaters often opt for additive-rich processed foods over a vegetable, such adverse impacts might come as no surprise.
Parents might have to use all sorts of strategies to make their kids eat certain foods, such as vegetables
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What might also come as no surprise is the fact that if a child is raised surrounded by picky eaters, they are quite significantly more likely to be one, too. Data suggests that roughly 35% of kids who are children of non-picky eater parents are fussy eaters themselves. When mom is the one in the family with certain food-based preferences, the percentage grows to 61%, and when dad is in said position, it reaches 73%. The situation seems to be the most dire when both of the parents are picky eaters, as roughly 93% of kids with such parents end up being fussy about food themselves.
Even though some moms and dads are equally as challenging as kids are when it comes to eating habits, others are not, but they have to pay the price anyway. Surveys show that roughly three-in-five parents will make something different if their little hell-raiser doesn’t like what other family members are eating, likely meaning even more time spent in the kitchen and even more dishes to tackle.
Said survey revealed that kids being fussy eaters is the biggest challenge for parents who try to ensure that their offspring follows a healthy diet. Wanting them to eat healthy is likely the reason why nearly all of them—94%, to be exact—have tried at least one strategy to get their kid to eat their veggies, be it preparing them the way the child likes, hiding them in food, or offering a reward for finishing all the vegetables on their plate.
It seems that the OP might not need to trick his child into eating his veggies, as he was told to be the opposite of a picky eater. But the boy did admit that he didn’t enjoy the salmon at the dinner party much, which is why his dad went to get him some McDonald’s – a decision that proved to be quite controversial.
Many people believed the dad was rude for leaving mid-dinner
Others took a slightly different stance
