Health is Over Rated - Chicken Finger Rant

[kkandaj]

As a parent of a child with life threatening food allergies to soy, milk, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts, I am shocked when I hear about kids "only eating certain foods." I don't mean to be harsh, but children will eat what you allow them to eat. They will get hungry and eventually eat. If toddlers could ONLY eat unhealthy foods, my son would not be living. Since DS was born, we have completely changed how we look at food--we know everything that is going into our body. Our entire family eats this way...not because it is fun or easy, but because it is REQUIRED for our son's safety...and has made us so much healthier. Even before DS, our DD did not dictate what she was going to eat...we as parents said she would eat veggies, fruits, meat.

Sometimes I wish parents realized how lucky they are to have a child that can eat anything, therefore forcing them to eat other options. DS misses out on so much. He's literally had chicken fingers twice in his life, homemade from scratch. He can eat NO food in restaurants, unless we are at WDW because they are THE MOST allergy friendly restaurants in the country. (another reason I need to visit more ) We are blessed that DS doesn't care that he misses out on chicken fingers, mac/cheese, ice cream mickey bars , Dole Whips, chewing gum, pizza, cotton candy--the list goes on and on.

From personal experience, I know that Disney Chef's are amazing and will find alternatives for your child. I sincerely hope that you can find something to appease your DC. Having a hungry child turns into a grumpy child and NO parent needs that at Disney.

 

[Sugardimples]

This issue comes up so often that I can no longer resist asking how this happens (so I can avoid it with my own future children).

Are chicken fingers the first solid foods these children ever eat, or did they eat a variety of food before they taste chicken fingers and then they refuse to eat anything else than the wonderous chicken?

Maybe chicken fingers should be a food to avoid for toddlers like peanuts?

Michelle

This is a good question.
I've never understood how it can be that all the picky eaters eat the exact same foods.

 

[HunnyJar]

This issue comes up so often that I can no longer resist asking how this happens (so I can avoid it with my own future children).

Are chicken fingers the first solid foods these children ever eat, or did they eat a variety of food before they taste chicken fingers and then they refuse to eat anything else than the wonderous chicken?

Maybe chicken fingers should be a food to avoid for toddlers like peanuts?

Michelle

Well, I'm not the OP so I don't know the details of their child but I will answer for my daughter.. First off, I have three kids.. One who will literally eat anything.. I do mean anything. The kid tried head cheese this past trip, just because. Blech! One is 1 year old and the other our little 2.5 year old daughter happens to have some sensory issues.

For some kids (like certain kids with sensory issues) the breading on the chicken fingers and nuggets is "okay" to touch. The direct feeling of meat without the breading can be too much for some kids. I know even when my daughter is working with her therapist if they are having a feeding session she will stop eating all together if she feels something off about her food. Maybe it is too "slimy," I don't know. But if she won't touch it with her fingers there is no way it is going past her lips.

Like I said, I don't know what the situation is for the OP but when on vacation or just out and about with my girl, I'm going to try to find the foods I think she will eat. Of course I will offer other things to her and if she feels like trying them, great! But if not it is nice to know where I can find the foods she is more likely to take.

 

[Jessieknj]

This issue comes up so often that I can no longer resist asking how this happens (so I can avoid it with my own future children).

Are chicken fingers the first solid foods these children ever eat, or did they eat a variety of food before they taste chicken fingers and then they refuse to eat anything else than the wonderous chicken?

Maybe chicken fingers should be a food to avoid for toddlers like peanuts?

Michelle

I have no idea how this happens. My guess is parents may just think it's a kids food a serve it a lot?? My DS 5 eats anything (with the exception of veggies... but will eat enough for a good varity). His first solid meats we whatever we had cut up small. I NEVER make him a seperate meal. Kids won't starve. I know parents think they will never eat again rathar than eat non kid foods but when they're really hungry they will eat. Sometimes he will decide he doesn't want what I make, oddly enough it's usually when we have pasta lol, so he doesn't eat a meal... he's not going to starve. He just eats like a beast at breakfast lol.

Obviously kids with sensory issues, feeding tubes, special needs etc need to be handled differently but I don't understand "picky eaters". There are better choices on most kids menus at Chilis, OG etc. When my son started getting meals off the kids menu I would order grilled chicken or whatever the healthy option was and cut it up small for him.

 

[kamik86]

I wish there were things like this thread around when I was a kid. I'm 24 and my mom used to complain about how picky I was. I wouldn't eat salads, carrots, etc pretty much the only veggies I would eat were corn and cucumbers.

However I ate pasta (only with butter but that's an easy accommodation..., any meats that were put in front of me, the types of fish my father would eat (he is also picky so that didn't help). Oh and if I would eat a food I wasn't picky on the brand/shape/whatever.

Now I don't seem like nearly as picky of a kid. (I now eat lettuce, peppers, carrots, and peas. I still won't touch a lot of other veggies though. However now my mom complains about Dad being picky as he still wont' do anything ethic at all, (Teppan Edo, anything mexican, Chinese food, etc) is very picky about spices etc.

 

[TDC Nala]

thread's getting off topic, please remember this isn't a parenting forum, and it's not for discussion about how picky eaters get picky - please stick to where you can find breaded chicken parts...

 

[plutolovr]

Totally agree with the OP. Why can't Disney just have normal kids menus like any Chili's, 99 Restaurant, Olive Garden etc? They should have these items standard on any menu:

KRAFT mac & chesse (my kids hate what they serve at Disney)
decent pizza (most of the kids pizzas are gross)
chicken fingers
grilled cheese
spaghetti & meatballs
hot dogs & hamburgers

I don't remember eating all the junk when I was a kid. I mean we had pizza and spaghetti, but my mom worked full time and only made one dinner and we all had to eat it. On top of that my dad was a hunter and fisherman, so I grew up eating venison, rabbit, pheasant and lots of fish. I don't even think chicken fingers were even invented yet.

I think restaurants should do away with Children's menus and just make smaller portions of their regular menu. Parents need to help broaden their children's food world.

 

[mariamouse]

...

 

[angierae]

This is a good question.
I've never understood how it can be that all the picky eaters eat the exact same foods.

Because those are foods that are on children's menus in restaurants, and this generation of kids eats out way more than we ever did as kids. (And I'm guilty of it too - my DD is 16 and she's just recently starting to try things.)

I always said if I had a second kid they would never order off a kid's menu, ever.


Edit: Also, it's the same crap they feed them for hot lunch at school, although that's gotten a LITTLE bit better since DD got to high school, but not much.

 

[WantToGoNow]

My thought was that maybe buffets would be the way to go. I think every lunch/dinner buffet has chicken fingers. Pretty pricing though at $20+ for a chicken finger or two.

There are no kids chicken fingers on any menu that I can remember. What they serve are little round processed pieces of nastiness. Now I know you can get fingers on some adult CS menus - maybe you could share those with her.

That said I do have one picky child - but he does eat more than just chicken fingers. He won't eat grilled chicken though and I asked him why recently. He said it's because the meat feels different so atleast there is a reason.

 

[Elmo007]

For some kids (like certain kids with sensory issues) the breading on the chicken fingers and nuggets is "okay" to touch. The direct feeling of meat without the breading can be too much for some kids. .

This pretty much hits the nail on the head

 

[jude&jonah]

Question- for my future when I have children- will restaurants let you order kids sizes of the regular meals at a reduced price if you don't want your children raised on all biege 'typical kids meals' diet? Would be a good option for Moms who want to raise non-picky kids!

 

[angierae]

Question- for my future when I have children- will restaurants let you order kids sizes of the regular meals at a reduced price if you don't want your children raised on all biege 'typical kids meals' diet? Would be a good option for Moms who want to raise non-picky kids!

I've never seen it, but restaurant portions are so big these days I figured I'd split meals with kid #2 until they were big enough to make a decent dent on their own meal.

Of course then I never had kid #2.

 

[Sinderelly]

I couldnt agree with you more. I cannot imagine catering to her whims like that either. My DS11 use to be picking when he was 4 yrs old-ish, but thankfully i'd molded him into the adventurous eater he is right now. If he doesnt like what im cooking, or whats on the menu, too bad. I will not make separate meals or special trips just because he's picky about the food thats presented to him. With (stern) encouragement over the years, he's grown to love pretty much all foods now. Heck, he just might be more adventurous than me! Lol.

Will she eat ONLY chicken fingers, and not chicken nuggets?? The kids nuggets (from what i've seen) is flatter and different than the regular nuggets for adults. The adults one is more like a giant popcorn chicken (sooooo good btw). The kids nuggets dont look very appealing to be honest, its processed meat as opposed to real chicken breast pieces for adults. Maybe if you tell her the nuggets is all they have, she will eat it?? Just explain that its the same as a chicken finger, just shaped differently. or maybe she will like the kids nuggets better? Chicken fingers is hard to come by, its not available everywhere likes nuggets are.

will she not eat anything else at all??? hot dogs? pizza? pasta?? mashed potatoes? anything?

Unless she has a medical problem I can't imagine not being able to eat in restaurants due to a child only eating one food. You can try to change this as much as you can prior to your trip. Just tell your DD chicken fongers are not available in some of the restaurants and she will need to pick something else. When she gets hungry she will eat.

 

[KarenR122]

My DD is 4 and autistic with major sensory issues and chicken nuggets were one of the few items she would eat. Almost every restaurant we wanted to go to had chicken nuggets even if they were not on the menu and were more than happy to prepare them for her. Just to be on the safe side, call the restaurant you want to go to and ask if that is available.

Now that being said, my DD tried alot of new foods on this trip thanks to her love for princesses. How could she turn down delicious grilled fish if Cinderella loves it!!

 

[4orm]

We have the opposite problem! We're on QSDP, and have 2 fairly adventurous eaters. I'm going nuts finding restaurants that will give them more of a choice than just chicken fingers/burgers/pizza.

If I had any say, I think all restaurants should have 2 of the standard kid meals (burgers, chicken fingers, pizza) and at least 1 dish that is unique to the restaurant. There is no reason why a place like Tangierine Cafe shouldn't have *something* more exotic on the kid's menu!

It's going to be hard for us to feed our kale and chard loving toddler. I'm guessing for us more of the signatures and table service restaurants will allow us to order a side plate of some of the greens that accompany a main. We're lucky she eats well, but that also mean we don't want to adulterate her palate with the easier to find offerings. I'm just happy that there are the fresh fruit stands in the parks!

 

[lauralong81]

This issue comes up so often that I can no longer resist asking how this happens (so I can avoid it with my own future children).

Are chicken fingers the first solid foods these children ever eat, or did they eat a variety of food before they taste chicken fingers and then they refuse to eat anything else than the wonderous chicken?

Maybe chicken fingers should be a food to avoid for toddlers like peanuts?

Michelle

funny... my kids (5 & 6) are very adventurous eaters. They eat their veggies as told, and it's pretty rare we have fits. That said, I worked very hard to mold them that way. If they don't like it, too bad. They are lucky to have food on the table. It is a struggle here and there, but really pays off when we can go to mom & dad's favorite sushi place and not have to bring happy meals with. Funny enough, after all that hard work (and boy, those power struggles are NOT fun) they still prefer things like chicken strips and mac-n-cheese! They will still eat what we give them of course (or they go hungry) but if you ask what they want - the first thing is chicken strips!! argh!!!

If it is sensory or some other issue... well, I hope PP finds the answers and gets what DD needs!!!

 

[lauralong81]

bah... double.

 

[Colleen27]

This issue comes up so often that I can no longer resist asking how this happens (so I can avoid it with my own future children).

Are chicken fingers the first solid foods these children ever eat, or did they eat a variety of food before they taste chicken fingers and then they refuse to eat anything else than the wonderous chicken?

Maybe chicken fingers should be a food to avoid for toddlers like peanuts?

I think to some extent it is luck of the draw, particularly when it comes to eating habits influenced by sensory issues (whether or not they accompany a specific diagnosis).

All three of mine have been raised basically the same way in regards to food - we're not clean plate club types, but we do insist on a "no thank you" bite and don't cater to preferences for "kid food" - but my middle child is considerably pickier than her siblings and went through a phase where she was very stubborn about only wanting foods from within her little comfort zone. Her comfort zone was different because we chose not to give the kids a lot of "kid food" when they were small, but that didn't change the natural tendency towards picky-ness - instead of only eating chicken strips or pizza, she would go through periods of only wanting stir-fry or ordering mac & cheese only to refuse to eat it because it was Kraft rather than homemade style. Fortunately it was a fairly short-lived phase - by 6ish she was a little more open minded and at 10 she'll dig into a plate of sushi or stuffed peppers with the rest of us, but at 3-4-5yo she was really hard to please.

 

[just another guy]

No, I can't imagine basing all my restaurant choices on a child's being able to order only chicken fingers. Does your dd have a severe sensory disorder or medical issue of some kind? That's the only kind of situation I could imagine catering to her whims like that. And even then, I'd probably pack in some chicken fingers from counter service and eat wherever I wanted.

Possibly a little harsh, but well said. To many parents let their kids run the show. The parents are the ones who should be in charge.