My Encounter with Miss Picky

This week I’d like to share a funny story.

My husband and I were doing our usual weekly shopping the other week and as I was selecting some lemons in the produce area, I overheard I tiny voice saying, “I don’t liiiike those.” (note the “like” was drawn out and emphasized.)  I listened in more closely and heard the conversation taking place between a grandmother and her granddaughter who must have been around 3 years.

Grandmother: “How can you not like peaches?  Grandma loves peaches!”
Granddaughter: “Grandma, I don’t liiike them.”
Grandmother: “Oh, but they are so juicy and ripe this time of year.”
Granddaughter: “Nooooo, Grandma, I don’t liiiike them!”

Okay then–I guess she doesn’t care for peaches I thought to myself.  Hey, everyone has their likes and dislikes.

A little while later we were making our way through the the frozen food aisle.  Again, a similar conversation was taking place between Grandma and her granddaughter, this time about corn.

Granddaughter: “Nooo–put that back, I don’t liiiike those.”
Grandmother: “You don’t like corn?”
Granddaughter: “No!”
Grandmother: “I can’t believe that.  Corn is very good.  We’ll have it with our hot dogs for dinner.”
Granddaughter: “No, Grandma, I don’t liiike it.”

At this point my husband shot me a look.  Hmmmm …if he’s noticing this I guess it’s pretty bad I thought to myself.

Finally, three aisles later we met yet again and this time it was orange juice.

Grandmother: “Let me get some orange juice for breakfast tomorrow.”
Granddaughter: “Noooo!”
Grandmother: “Why not?”
Granddaughter: “I don’t liiiike it.”
Grandmother (frustrated): “Well I do!”

Poor Grandma–she certainly had her hands full.  It seemed (from what I witnessed) that her little angel didn’t like much of anything.

I’m sure we’ve all had our run ins or know of a Miss (or Mr.) Picky.  The important thing is learning how to get kids past this stage and teaching them healthy food habits so this doesn’t become the norm for them.  Luckily, I’m past this stage and honestly, I really didn’t have too much trouble with John and Alex.  For those of you who are having difficulty, I thought I’d pass along the resources available on the Fruits & Veggies–More Matters web site that can make your life easier and save you a few headaches.  There are recipes, top 10 lists, creative ways to get your little ones involved in healthy cooking and shopping as well as a kids web site.  Give it a shot–they’ll come around.

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