We all have dealt with picky eaters at some point in our lives. Whether it's your child who's finicky about the contents of their plate (or just getting the grasp of vegetarianism) or your fussy partner - trying to please everyone's taste buds can drive us mad.
Last week, a woman named Brianna Greenfield (@themamabrianna) posted a video on TikTok sharing that her husband didn't like the salmon dinner she made for them and their kids. Instead of retaliating, this mother not only cooked up an amazing nacho meal for him, but a video that was just as hot and viral as the dish she filmed herself making. It garnered a shocking 1.6 million views in less than 48 hours, with almost 3 million views as of today.
A woman on TikTok decided to share how she dealt with her 'picky' husband refusing to eat the dinner she prepared
Image credits: LightFieldStudios
Instead of throwing up her hands in the air, she shared the process of making a nacho meal for him, which got millions of views in return
Image credits: themamabrianna
Image credits: themamabrianna
Image credits: themamabrianna
Image credits: themamabrianna
Image credits: themamabrianna
Image credits: themamabrianna
Image credits: themamabrianna
Image credits: themamabrianna
At the end of the day, Brianna hopes that more parents should start introducing kids to all sorts of food despite their fussiness
Image credits: themamabrianna
Here's the full viral video
To Brianna, who is a mother of two, redoing dinner because someone is fussy about their food is nothing new (in another TikTok, she prepares a bowl of mac & cheese for her husband). That simply comes with the territory of being a parent. Getting 2.9 million views over a 40-second video, however, must be a pleasant surprise - that's more than all of Brianna's previous videos combined. All thanks to the algorithm gods and her picky partner.
Image source: FamilyStock (not the actual photo)
Since the phenomenon of kids and grown-ups alike having different food preferences is as old as the concept of allergies, many parents started to suspect that there must be an explanation behind picky eaters. Especially, when one-quarter of American adults consider themselves as one, according to a study done in 2016. You could argue that we, as a democratic society, simply got a bit spoiled and whatnot. But the reality is that most fussy eaters (or 3-in-4 people) blame it on their upbringing.
Yes, it has been widely acknowledged that a person's upbringing and life experiences have a significant impact on their children's pickiness. However, before you start worrying that you're to blame for their messy nutrition, know that biology might have a hand in this as well. Scientific evidence shows that some individuals possess a genetic predisposition towards picky eating that may manifest before they even encounter their first-ever plate of Brussels sprouts.
While many associate picky eating with fussiness, science shows that there's much more to it than that (and that your kids will turn out okay)
And that's not all: there are certain neurological and psychological factors, like anxiety or negative experiences with certain foods, that can contribute to a person's picky eating habits. We've all been there and know how it feels. The good news is that most kids do grow out of this, statistically speaking. The prevalence of picky eating behavior in preschool children varies from 14 to 50 percent, while in older children, it ranges from 7 to 27 percent, or a decrease by half. Of course, the reality is that nobody can control this fully and sometimes you might just be destined to eat pizza for the rest of your dear life.
Take Michael Voltaggio, for example. He was the "worst, pickiest eater ever", with a worrying diet consisting of Ramen, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, and chicken fingers. But that didn't stop him from becoming the winner of "Top Chef" in 2009 and owner of one of the hottest restaurants, "ink.", in Los Angeles (which, unfortunately, had to close its doors in 2017).
According to Elena Mikalsen, the Chief of Pediatric Psychology at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, who also had to deal with two little fussy eaters at home, there are several things to consider before you consider picky eating a problem. First, it might be a cause of anxiety, as we noted earlier. "No matter what caused the picky eating initially, right now your child is basically anxious about food," Mikalsen told Bored Panda. "Eating does not bring your child joy, new foods give them panic, and all the ways they have tried to eat have been to cope with that anxiety."
One of the ways to deal with the underlying anxiety, then, is teaching. Particularly, teaching about different kinds of food and that the little green trees we call broccoli won't certainly bite. Elena recommends bringing your finicky eater as a co-pilot while making food. "Engage your child in all cooking," she suggested, "they can help wash produce, slice items with a plastic knife, arrange items on plates, pour things in bowls, mix ingredients, and measure. Talk about how everything smells, looks, and feels."
You might feel defeated at first, but don't throw your hands in the air just yet. Patience is the key, Elena reminds us. "The process of helping a picky eater takes one to two years," she explained. Introducing a new food to a picky eater can require repeated exposure, typically between 40 to 60 times, before they will develop a taste for it. This process requires a collaborative effort from the entire family, including grandparents, to ensure that everyone is on board and supportive of the effort to broaden the child's palate.
Many people agreed that such behavior from a grown-up person shouldn't be tolerated
However, many didn't take issue with this woman trying to please her 'picky' husband
