Have you ever encountered a picky eater? Odds are that you have, as such a habit is pretty common, of course, with varying levels. What we're also interested in is how you reacted to them – did you accept them, or couldn't you help but feel annoyed?
Well, the latter reaction is what this woman had about her future stepdaughter. She just couldn't handle the fact that she eats a very limited range of foods and that her father doesn't want to do anything about it. And this, sadly, turned their joint future very doom and gloom.
More info: Reddit
People tend to react differently when they meet someone who is a picky eater
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
For example, this woman was beyond annoyed when it turned out that her future stepdaughter is one
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
In her eyes, it wasn't a failure of the girl herself, but rather her fiancé, who fathered her
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
You see, when her own daughter developed picky eating some time ago, the woman managed to "fix it"
Image credits: MotherCartographer10
So, it's a deal-breaker for her that her fiancé doesn't seem fazed about his daughter's eating habits
The OP recently got engaged to her boyfriend, who has an 8-year-old daughter. Her own daughter gets along with this girl, which is good, since they’re about to be stepsisters.
When her fiancé got granted 50/50 custody of his daughter, and she started spending more time with the post’s author, the woman noticed that the girl was an extremely picky eater. For instance, she eats only foods like chicken tenders, French fries, and pizza. And let’s just say that kind of habit didn’t really please the future stepmom.
You see, she’s in the military, and that means she’s all about the importance of a healthy and well-balanced diet, especially for children. When her daughter had picked up a picky eating habit back in the day, she made sure to fix it, which took about 6 months.
So, she tried speaking with her fiancé about his daughter’s eating habits and how they should strive to snap her out of it. Yet, he didn’t make this out to be as big an issue as she did, and that’s why he didn’t feel like fixing it or anything.
And that’s beyond frustrating for the woman. In fact, it's not only frustrating, but a whole deal-breaker. She just can’t wrap her head around how someone can be so laidback on “fixing” their child.
Image credits: pressfoto / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Well, technically, the woman isn’t wrong about the fact that picky eating can be “cured.” Only, just as it was for her daughter, it takes quite a lot of time and patience. Making the food more appetizing, starting small, and finding what motivates a picky eater to leave their food comfort zone are essential in this process.
But what should be taken into consideration when it comes to picky eating is that quite often it stems from something deeper than just stubbornness. For example, some theories suggest that genetics can play a part in it.
The most popular theory is that picky eating is connected to the TAS2R38 gene, which affects the ability to taste bitterness. That means that certain folks might not like the foods, like broccoli or Brussels sprouts, that tend to carry that bitter taste. And it’s not limited to these examples; they might just feel aversion to many other vegetables or foods with strong flavor, too.
Of course, neurodivergence and sensitivity issues can be a common reason behind picky eating as well, but in this case, at least according to the OP, it isn’t. Yet, as some netizens pointed out, you can never be sure, especially when you’re not an expert, like this woman. She’s not qualified to say that the girl doesn’t have any neurodivergence for sure. And when you add the fact that she also has struggles with reading, who knows?
Either way, what people online also pointed out is that the OP isn’t really compatible with this fiancé, and maybe breaking up isn’t the worst-case scenario here. What do you think?
Netizens pointed out that the woman is rather ignorant about it all, as the picky eating might be coming from the girl's neurodivergence, which the woman wrote off as nonexistent
