Anderson had just told host Ginger Hultin that she doesn't much care what parents call picky eating, as long as they don't say it in front of the child; Hultin asked her to explain that. Her answer is that the label creates a second problem sitting on top of the eating itself. It is an argument about identity rather than nutrition, aimed at a word most parents use casually at the table.
…But if we're just talking about picky eating, we're talking your kid is not eating something that's on the table. And it's happening more often than you'd like. That's picky. It's fine. I really don't have any worries about what you call it, as long as you're not saying it in front of your child.
Ooh, tell me more about that.
Once kids believe that they're a picky eater and they embrace this idea, then we have to mess with their identity and the fact that they're a picky eater. And those are two different problems. And it's easier to just address one.
So let's say that you are struggling. I'm interested in what some of the common challenges are, how you might message that to a child, if at all, and what some of your baseline strategies are.
So if your child says, I don't eat peas, you could say, okay, you're still learning to like them. Give me the peas. I'm going to eat them in front of you. I'm going to show you they're okay. I'm maybe even going to enjoy them. I love these peas. Thank you for sharing yours with me. Things like…
I meet a lot of adults that have that identity. I have a patient about my age who has this negative affinity with Brussels sprouts because she had them boiled as a young person and she was open-minded enough to try them roasted. And she was like, this is the most incredible food I've ever had. And…