#and honestly the punishment of food/mealtime is honestly one of the reasons it was *easy* for me to delve into more disordered behaviours

[uncanny-tranny]

I really wish there was more insight as to why children are "picky eaters" because the way people go about "fixing us" can be detrimental to our relationship with food.

When I was a kid, I was obviously neurodivergent, and I wasn't tested for anything and never received any support. I was a huge "picky eater" to the point that going to a new restaurant with a menu I didn't know would send me into panic mode. I didn't understand why I felt that way, I didn't understand that I wasn't a selfish, horrible kid for being unable to force myself to eat. I'd be the person sitting at the dining room table for hours because I just couldn't force myself to eat the food I was given.

I understand why parents do that. It can be concerning when you think your kid isn't getting the proper nutrition. It's concerning when a kid's pallete is overly shrunk down. But if you're going about it in a punishing way, you only reinforce the idea that food is bad and dangerous. And if a child knows that eating their food would cause them less grief and stress than not eating the food, and yet they still will not or cannot eat, that's a sign. Maybe work with children, try to understand why they're a "picky eater." Chances are they're not doing it because they personally want to spite you and they despise your very aura.

#parenting #disordered eating #disordered eating tw #and honestly the punishment of food/mealtime is honestly one of the reasons it was *easy* for me to delve into more disordered behaviours #because there was already the looming idea that food was bad but i was worse for not conforming to people's expectations of what i eat #but it could have been so much easier if i was actually asked what about food made me so ridged and 'uncompliant' #and this isn't me saying that you can't/shouldn't address picky eating. i just don't think brute force is effective or appropriate... #...most of the time. many kids do have phases of picky eating and sometimes it's for no reason and sometimes it's because of big concerns... #...that brute forcing can't address. addressing the needs of a child is complex and takes time but it's worth it to get to a spot wherein... #...the child trusts that they're safe and that food isn't an enemy - it's just fuel and we can make that act taste great #just a thought my brain was like 'here's this before i got to sleep have fun thinking on it 👍'