35 of the Most Ridiculous Reasons Why Children Don’t Eat Their Food

Children are hell when it comes to food. Such fun, though—not that they aren’t. But those little pests can really drive you up the wall with their whining about seeds and strings. Saying anything about it would be pretty hypocritical: I was no different as a child. Nothing green went in my mouth, and for years I ate nothing but chicken with fries and applesauce. So, deep respect for my parents. And these children—let’s be honest—come up with much more original reasons for refusing food than I did…

These 35 reasons why children don’t eat their food are bizarre

1. Nicole: ‘My youngest daughter had told Grandma that she thought chicken legs were delicious. So at the next barbecue at my mother-in-law’s, Grandma had bought special chicken legs (drumsticks) just for her. But she wouldn’t eat them. “But you said you liked chicken legs, didn’t you?” “Yes, Grandma, but only chicken legs from a cow!!!” She’s 14 now, but we still tease her about it.’
2. Joyce: ‘It’s very tasty, Mum, which is why I’m giving it to the dog.’
3. Nathalie: ‘My six-year-old son didn’t want to eat his frikandel because when he saw it being cut open, he noticed that the cow had had inflammations..’
4. Lenny: ‘I didn’t use to like Brussels sprouts, but my mother thought I should eat my age in sprouts. Five years old, so five sprouts… “Well, Dad first, then Mum… and then…. the pan is empty..”
5. Margriet: ‘My son refused to eat endive because he has dyslexia…’
6. Anne: ‘My daughter loves tomato soup from a carton.. But no fresh tomato soup, because that contains tomatoes and she doesn’t like those..’
7. Elly: ‘A hole in the bread under the crust… my son says: “I don’t like holes” and sure enough.. he ate around it’
8. Sharon: ‘My daughter didn’t like chicken breast. Because she felt so sorry for the chickens.. if we said it was pork chop, she would eat it! Because that isn’t meat…’
9. Kimberly: ‘My two-year-old daughter doesn’t eat lettuce (leaves); she thinks they’re trees.’
10. Diana: ‘Our son once didn’t feel like eating spinach. It was just too green this time.’
11. Miranda: ‘Our youngest (now six) doesn’t eat mashed potatoes “because there are potatoes in it” He’s kept it up so far. Now none of the potato varieties (fried, boiled, baby potatoes and even fries) are his favorite part of the meal, but we really can’t get him to eat mash.’
12. Irene: ‘Our daughter suddenly stopped wanting to eat bananas… because of the seeds…’
13. Linda: ‘My daughter doesn’t eat minced meat, because “it looks just like worms!”‘
14. Chayenne: ‘We recently had a blueberry strike because I pronounced it incorrectly..’
15. Alysse: ‘My daughters eat runner beans exclusively with a spoon or fork. Touching them is absolutely out of the question, “because otherwise you’ll get cuts”—which I don’t actually mind, because at least they eat neatly that way.’
16. Heidi: ‘My daughter was in tears because she didn’t want boy cheese (young cheese), but girl cheese…’
17. Ria: ‘My son, now 23, said he found his pork belly “too porky”.’
18. Marloes: ‘My son Maurice suddenly stopped liking ketchup from one day to the next because it tastes like vegetables. He probably heard that it contains tomatoes.’
19. Marie: ‘Brown beans, because they’re spoiled brown grapes…’
20. Yvonne: ‘My daughter is “allergic” to large bananas. She isn’t allergic to small bananas.’
21. Lieke: ‘My son doesn’t like fish fingers, but ever since I started calling them chickfish, he does..’
22. Reina: ‘My daughter didn’t want to eat carrots. Because orange is an ugly and disgusting color.’
23. Henny: ‘For a long time, we called courgette “long cucumber,” because they did eat cucumber and would pick the pieces of courgette out of their food. Then they ate it.’
24. Rowena: ‘So my daughter doesn’t eat spinach “because it’s baby diarrhea”.’
25. Floortje: ‘My little brother didn’t use to eat frankfurters, because of the snap…’
26. Stefanie: ‘My daughter doesn’t like grapes, because they’re “too spicy”.’
27. Sofie: ‘No asparagus is eaten here, ”because asparagus gives me cramps in my toes”.’
28. Marije: ‘My daughter refuses to eat mango because she “thinks it’s a stupid name”.’
29. Henk: “This banana is too crooked,” which is why my four-year-old son won’t eat it.
30. Patries: ‘My son refuses to drink water “because it stinks”?!
31. Valery: ‘After eating nothing but currant buns for years, my niece thought the pieces were too hard.’
32. Shavon: ‘Ever since discovering that eggs come from chickens, my colleague’s son no longer eats eggs…’
33. Stef: ‘My little brother didn’t use to eat ice cream, because it was too cold…’
34. Patrick: ‘When my son finally got his swimming certificate at age eight, he refused to eat fish because “they can’t swim very well”.’
35. Rick: ‘My twins don’t eat doughnuts because there’s a hole in them.’

Read also:

• These children’s ‘reviews’ are more critical than those of many a culinary critic
• This is what children around the world eat in a week
• Video: American kids try a herring sandwich