Dave Smith wrote:
So in one
> family we run the gamut, from those who will try just about anything to
> those whose weekly food consumption could be limited to 5 different items.


I've wondered if there could be something physical or genetic involved.
I was a picky kid. I didn't want to be a picky kid. I suffered a
fair amount of anxiety over watching socially adept classmates enjoy
foods that the thought of eating made me gag. My parents did everything
short of child abuse to make me try ordinary foods (cheese, vegetables).
I wanted to please them and was a good kid in most other
ways, but I couldn't bring myself to put foods in my mouth, chew and
swallow them.


I can think of ways my parents should have handled the power struggle
with me differently, but I can't think of why I was such a picky kid
when my brother wasn't. I started growing out of the pickiness when I
was in my late teens.


My niece is 14 now and very like I was at that age as regards food. Her
brother is like my brother in that he's open to eating a larger number
of foods. It would sort of make sense if I were a major influence in my
niece's life, but I haven't been. I'm the sort of relative who visits
and brings presents, but I haven't been feeding the kids. There's no
reason for her to know that I was picky.


Which makes me wonder if we both inherited the picky gene.


--Lia