My husband was raised in a “picky eating” household. I was not. Thankfully my husband began eating a wide range of foods once he became an adult, and none of our kids are picky eaters. Obviously they have food preferences and dislikes, and we don’t ban or talk negatively about any types of food, but they almost never want to order off the kids’ menu, and they don’t really enjoy most “kid foods.” Basically, they prefer salmon and sushi to hot dogs and chicken nuggets, and that’s fine with us.
Last weekend my husband’s family was at our house for a birthday party, and my daughter was eating avocado on crackers as a snack. My sister-in-law snatched them away and said, “This is yucky, why do you want to eat yucky food? Don’t you want a hot dog like [her son] instead?” My daughter politely said no and took her food back. This has happened many times at restaurants and other family gatherings.
This may sound weird, but oftentimes that kind of behavior stems from parental insecurity. It’s like they’re thinking, “Oh, these kids think they’re better than my kids with their fancy avocado crackers? I’ll show them!” Sadly, parents will find the most ridiculous reasons to compete with each other, and all it does is erode relationships and cause unnecessary drama.