Picky Eating Isn't About the Food | Katie Kimball | TEDxHartford

Don’t ever say to kid just eat it biggest mistake anyone can do

I have not watched the video yet nor read the comments, but I just want to know how many of you relate to mom/dad cooking with love and give the food to you but you just can't eat it and they get sad and make you feel awful and guilty because you literally cannot eat that type of food?

I almost wanted to cry through this video. I feel so understood for struggles I couldn't understand myself 😭

Anyone else mesmerized by her amazing arms!??!? Lol! I think I picked up a few tips but now I want slim arm secrets!!

🍑👀

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Throw in a terrible overbite that made eating difficult.

This phenomenon does not exist in Africa..... Just saying

I watched this when my kids were little and tried to apply this thinking. I have one not picky eater and one picky eater. I tried to combine it with my mom’s advice to start with veggies for kids. My picky eater learned to eats nuts and seeds and vegetables and so those became familiar foods. He refuses to try new foods though. Even at school…they’ve tried offering him sugary cereals even and he refuses to try.

That said, we’ve come a long way. After years of effort, we got him to eat Mac n cheese so we would have something universal. I think picky eating for him is also not about food. I think it is something else. But it’s the advice about reducing pressure that I think was the best advice we could have gotten. This is a great talk, with a lot of good stuff in it.

And when you have a 20-month-old baby who doesn't want to eat anything, has malnutrition problems and has already had a gastrostomy for not eating?

I'm in my late 20s, and I can't handle many of the textures/taste of vegetable. I used to love them when I was young, but I just can't eat them without feeling sick. Salad is a big problem for me because my mouth associates the taste and texture of it with grass. And I've tried various salad dressing, but that does nothing. Most people think I need to get over it, but I can't when most of it is due to my sensory issues.

My kid chews for a long time and takes forever to swallow. She eventually spits it out some times. What kind of problem might she have

Celine dion

I had a neighbor who had a daughter who was 7 who only ate little nibbles at a time. One day I saw her in shorts and marveled that she could even walk because her legs looked like sticks with a joint in the middle!! She was a walking skeleton!! 😮 At age 7!! I couldn’t help thinking that she must have some deep emotional stuff going on! Since her mom was The Boss, I suspected it was a way to try to gain control in her little life!
…poor thing!! 😢

It’s so frustrating that this is geared towards small kids. As well/ my kid won’t even TOUCH the food. Not to prepare it, not to touch it, she doesn’t care if she gets to touch a knife, she just doesn’t want to be bothered about the food at all

I like this video. I had issues with my family complaining about my eating growing up too and now I have two boys and they're learning how to eat. This video helps a lot thank you 💖🥰

I'm honestly proud to say that I have never been a strict "eat what I make or you won't eat at all" parent. I know there are some things I don't like, so why would I force my kids to eat stuff? My oldest isn't a "picky" eater but my daughter sure is. She only eats very specific things so I focus on making the "healthier" version. Like tacos, I use ground turkey and make my own seasoning, peanut butter and jelly I use the all natural ingredients and don't use white bread.

Im a parent of 6 years old, 4 years old, struggling 😢. I hope i can overcome this. My kids dont want to eat. I hope after this they will have fun eating and be healthier

Just don't give Them food for a few hours....They Will apreciate anything you offerThem at the end Of the day! 😉😏( Not everyday, Of course)

And why did all these issues with food - allergies, gut issues etc start in the 90s? Because in the 1980s - the US govt gave vaccine companies exemption from financial liability for injuries caused by their vaccines. If their vaccines caused injury - it had to go through a vaccine court and then if a claimant was successful the government/ taxpayer would foot the bill. It gave vaccine manufacturers a carte blanche green light to start adding vaccines to the childhood schedule as fast as they could produce them. One vaccine on the schedule = one billion in profit. And no liability. Vaccines are designed to cause inflammation. Otherwise there would be no immune response to the small amounts of weakened virus etc. Inflammation causes leaky gut, mental health issues & food allergies, and creates an ongoing cycle that doesn’t stop, particularly if more vaccines keep being given. So now we know why there have been so many picky eaters since the 90s 🤗. You’re welcome.

Most people never let themselves get truly hungry one time. Go on a fast for 3 days and see if you have any problems eating

So it is psychological. I know some orphans from India and they love everything that is put in front of them. We are just spoiled.

The fresh veggies is tricky because veggies go bad quickly and you end up throwing away a bunch of food. I just try give my 3 year old gummy vitamins and Pediasure.

I'm a 14 year old struggling with picky eating, I've been this way since I was a toddler and my parents tried everything to solve this problem but they just couldn't do anything abt it; I'm underweight and very unhealthy, I only eat diary products, pasta, chicken and potatoes which is very unhealthy considering that's the only thing I eat, and it's starting to drive me crazy because I look like a skeleton and my skin is so bad and pale to point where I look like a dead corpse or smth. I've been trying to encourage myself on eating healthier lately but it's not working because I don't like how it looks or smells, and I struggle with red meat which is the thing I hate the most but also need the most at the same time. I hope one day I could actually eat better and try new things because my health is very bad. 🥲

I bascly only like 14 tipes of food, yes im that fussy

It doesn't help that the fda is corrupted

It’s not that I don’t like the taste of things the texture just really really bothers me and the only way to fix that is me avoiding the food

I am a picky eater, and everything has to go through a system for me. I have to like absolutely everything the smell taste the texture, and it has to even look good to me. I probably only eat 5-10 different foods. But only 4 right now

The was wonderful thank you

Parents need to teach their kids that they are going to eat what the parents cook, being a picky eater is a CHOICE, Have respect for the food your parents buy

The veggies my 10-year old son is now able to eat are broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrots, and zuchinni squash (probably technically a fruit though). Took me a long time, but i'm glad we got to this point. Still working on introducing other types of veggies and hopefully beans. He's always like berries and apples, and occasionally bananas. His favorite foods tend to be meats (beef, chicken, pork).

My child would throw the food across the room even after doing the 3 steps

What about when your children refuses food so much that it is to their own physical detriment and your own suffering because they wake at night with cramps from malnutrition. It sounds nice that we can just empower our children all the way to them making good choices for themselves, but I have a son that is so passionate about his food control that he has stunted his own growth.

I wish I was a pickier eater.

never been a picky eater cause I either eat my Lebanese mom food or starve 😭

This honestly made me feel a lot better.

It's nice to hear success stories while still in the 'picky eating trenches.' Very thoughtful talk, and best of luck to other caregivers looking to help their kids become preferenced (not picky) eaters!

This is such a first world problem. I really doubt that people in the Soviet Union were picky. You would eat what you were given or starve. Even 50 years ago in my country, entire families were eating two sardines and bread as a meal. No one was picky. This is just one more way that we are overprotecting children. We no longer educate them, they raise us. Ridiculous.

Makes sense. I'll give it a try.

I wonder why "picky eating" increased so high in such a short time? There has to be something large scale going on

It's interesting to me that this seems to resonate with so many, and that's great. However, I have always been what's known as a picky eater and it simply comes down to taste and texture. It's always been that and most foods I didn't like as a child, I still don't like.

We've created a nation of neurotics.

I agree that cooking with kids is a good idea, but gardening with kids is also good. Both of those can be constructive.

This is true in western rich countries where children have thousands of options. In the rest of the unprivileged world, sorry, the poor countries, picky eating is a non existing phenomenon!

I’m nearly 60 and my dad still bugs me about not eating everything on my plate

Except when it is! I’ve worked with plenty of kids labeled picky eaters who had significant sensory based issues with foods, usually having to do with texture. Tough stuff when most of these kids only want to eat Mac and cheese and end of constipated. If you’re reading this and it sounds like your kid, find a pediatric occupational therapist!

"It's hard to eat, if you can't handle looking at your plate" YES!

I've always been a compartmental eater myself I have to see what I am eating and understand it. Now thinking about life, this applies to my whole life, I always like to know what I am getting into, I like to have an understanding before I do something. I rarely eat at restaurants unless I know exactly what's in the food or it's something super simple that can't be screwed up.

I always looked at it like a flaw, but maybe it's not. What an eye opening talk.

I hate the taste of ham. I have literally never liked ham my entire life but I’m repeatedly forced to eat ham because my family wants me to like it. Still don’t like it.

What do I do if my toddler doesn’t eat the food served but then goes into the fridge to get a yogurt or ice cream or candy?

We told him “no” and that all he was going to do was his milk at night.

I'm a picky eater because I'm autistic, and I only just figured that out at age 24 last year. Seeking a diagnosis currently, but yeah. Texture BIG no-no. If it feels bad in my mouth it may as well not be food. Leafy things are BAD, even tiny fresh herbs and basil can make me spit it out. Slimy is also a HUGE no! Oatmeal is a sin and should be eradicated. There's no way people put oatmeal in their mouth and they don't feel like all of their cells are revolting. I gag. If I was starving and oatmeal was the only food... no it wasn't, there is no food. ( o_o ;) It is simply inedible, not a food. If there's nothing I can safely eat I'M NOT EATING. I /literally/ cannot force myself to eat it.
Also, I like to eat my food weird. Best bite saved for last. Eat the outsides of a sandwich first. Make sure that in the first place the sandwich's contents are evenly spread so I get a bite of everything every bite. (I constantly have to redo sandwiches I order/buy). I used to eat sandwiches as individual parts when I was very little. 2 slices of bread, a puddle of sliced ham, and 2 pieces of cheese.
Tomato sauce has to have no chunks in it, especially the little bits of skin EUEUGH! I also hate eating meat that is hard to chew and gets in your teeth like crazy. That goes for anything with the exception of corn on the cob bc a fresh, hot, buttery, salted corn on the cob is just hghou I'm drooling already! I'll have the floss ready!