Haven't been on here for a while and I'm on a bit of a skive today :)
I just wondered what your thoughts are on why it's deemed necessary to feed children different food to adults?
Last week I went out for dinner and it was a breath of fresh air to read what they'd written on the menu about how they cater for younger diners. They wrote: We believe that children are little people so we do not offer a separate menu for kids, we will happily prepare a smaller portion of any of the dishes marked with an * for half the price of an adult meal.
But normally, when you go to restaurants they have a "Children's menu" which just offers burger, cheese and tomato pizza, chicken nuggets or fish sticks all served with fries, ketchup and no vegetable or salad!!!
Fair enough, a small child might not be able to stomach a Chicken Vindaloo (hey, even I can't quite manage it LOL) but I don't understand why people seem to think they can only digest plain, processed, fried junk food!
OK, I remember as a child that some of the aforementioned foods were my favourites but because they weren't good for me they were an occasional treat. And if you only go out for a meal once in a while it's good to treat yourself to your favourite thing. But another aspect of going out for a meal is to try new things, and for children to learn to be a bit more "grown up"
It's not just in restaurants either - I know people who have children and they will prepare a certain dish for themselves and their partner but will also make a completely different thing for the kids! I once went to a friend's house for sunday lunch and she'd made a delicious roast. She'd spent hours making this lovely nutritious meal and then she bunged a frozen pizza in the microwave for her two young kids! I asked why they couldn't have some roast dinner and all she could say was "ah they wouldn't like it, they will only eat pizza!"
I don't get it - people want their kids to be healthy but they feed them with all this rubbish, and never encourage them to try things in case they decide they "do not like it" before they've even given it a go! Then we end up with a generation of overweight, sickly kids who don't know how to use a knife and fork and can't identify vegetables!
This doesn't happen in countries where food isn't plentiful, and in certain parts of Europe children will sit down to a small plate of whatever the grown ups are eating because they're not treated as any more or less special or different to anybody else.
Generally children like simpler food than adults, in terms of taste, texture, and appearance. For example, my 3 year old niece loves veggies, but will only eat them raw, individually (not touching or mixed), and without any seasonings or dressings. Children also tend to be more sensitive to spicy seasonings and bitter flavors. If you look at most children's menus, even the healthier food or food that is in keeping with the restaurant's cuisine (like chicken fajitas rather than pizza at a Mexican restaurant) is still prepared with fewer ingredients and less seasoning. Also, more and more restaurants are offering alternate healthy side dishes.
However, I do get what you're saying about parents being lazy about introducing new foods.
I do think a lot of people are lazy re: introducing new foods to their children. And I think some people are WAY too indulgent about allowing their children to eat just a few select foods. IMHO kids should be encouraged to eat a variety of foods and to at least try a bite of everything on their plate...ESPECIALLY when dining out or dining with family/friends who have gone to the trouble of preparing a lovely meal. I think it is part of having good manners when a child reaches a certain age (and although I can't pinpoint that "appropriate" age I'd say it's a lot closer to age 5 than say, 14! hehe)
My mom didn't really cook anything I disliked anyway, so it wasn't an issue in our home. But I had some friends whose family rule was "eat it or make yourself a PB&J" and I tend to think that's a pretty good middle ground especially for school age children (instead of always cooking a separate kiddie-friendly meal for the children). Sure you might have the kid who will just eat PB&J for 18 years. But I think a lot of kids will eventually get sick of it and "branch out" a bit.
I also think SOME of the blame for kids being picky eaters (in some situations) is picky parents, and/or parents with poor eating habits. When I was growing up, I do think our diet was relatively healthy but my mom was from the school of overcooked vegetables and not a lot of variety. As a result, I stuck to what I knew...cooked green beans, corn, and iceberg lettuce salads. It wasn't until I was in my 20's that I "discovered" a preference for raw veggies, spinach greens, bok choy, cucumbers, etc. I think I would have been a healthier kid if my mom had introduced any of that to me but she didn't like it and neither did my dad...so they didn't even think of buying/preparing those items, kwim?
In my house growing up it was, Eat it or go to bed hungry. There were never other choices, we always had well balanced meals every night at the table. I think I am an adventurous eater because of that. I still don't eat certain things because I don't enjoy them, but I never rule out a food because it has that.
On the other hand, my husbands family ate TV dinners every night growing up. His idea (when I first met him) of a good home cooked meal was getting a frozen stauffers dinner entree. YUK! His brother and his family still eat that way and they have a little one that every time I'm around her is eating a hotdog, mac and cheese, potato chips, ice cream.... I understand convenience cooking when your work all day and have kids at home, but at least add a salad to the meal.
They do offer some healthier side items in some restaurants now for kids meals. Instead of fries they can usually get a fruit cup or broccoli (not sure what kid is going to eat that). Hopefully parents are making the choice to order them the healthier side to go with their chicken tenders.
My husband's family is the same way. They're very meat and potatoes people and while not always convenience foods like TV dinners, they eat meals that are way too limited and starchy IMO. When we first met he was always passing up the salad for biscuits, rolls, or instant mashed potatoes. Now he's grown to like a lot more of the healthy stuff...more than he even realizes! When we visit his family we're shocked at their eating habits.
Love 
