My friend T.’s son went for years eating nothing but pizza with the cheese removed. At least, it seemed that way. Somehow, he kept growing, thriving even. Today, he’s 13, tall, does well in school, plays sports, has all his teeth and hair and no more than the expected amounts of acne. He was the most extreme of our neighborhood collection of picky eaters, but he had plenty of company.
Why is it that some young kids, cheerful and amenable in most respects, dig in their heels so ferociously when it comes to what they eat? (And the deeper mystery – why will even the pickiest eater put things in his or her mouth that are so clearly NOT FOOD, like pebbles, a nice shiny green poison-ivy leaf, a Lego ninja?)
Evolutionary scientists have some theories about the first question. Dr. Leann Birch, an expert on children’s eating habits at Penn State, noted in a recent New York Times article on picky eaters [1] that 10,000 years ago, children as young as 4 would be out foraging for food on their own. A preference for bland food, in that case, would be protective, preventing young children from eating toxic substances. Over time, evolutionary theory suggests, natural selection would favor children with an innate aversion to strong flavors.
So parents who are wearing themselves out in endless dinner-table power struggles may in fact be fighting more than stubbornness. They may be fighting a preference built right into their child over 50 generations. I find it kind of comforting. It doesn’t mean efforts to get kids to eat a varied diet aren’t worthwhile, just that we should have modest expectations for success, at least in the early years.