Nature or Nurture

I used to be a very fussy eater most of my childhood, into my teens and up to about 22/23 years. I hated fruits … few vegetables … and fish. I loved potatoes in any form. Being a 'Malayalee', I even hated the 'scared' vial  of all 'Malayalees'... coconut milk. Somehow I guess being far away from home …. I grew to being non-fussy and eating everything anyone offered me. I even acquired taste for sushi … which is a long journey for someone who hated fish!

Suresh on the other hand...was, is and I think will be a fussy eater. When I met him he wouldn't eat certain vegetables (beets, spinach …) and certain dishes cooked a certain way (anything deep fried was always accepted). After 7 years of marriage when we were about 8 months into our first pregnancy, I warned Suresh 'If your kids watch you being fussy … they wont eat anything.'

As a deal of entering into fatherhood, I made a pact with Suresh. He had one vegetable he could absolutely refuse to eat. Everything else in any form … he HAD to eat.

He choose 'Beets'.

Interestingly beets was among the first few veggies I tried on Isaac along with baked yam and broccoli. See that list as everything Suresh hates. Isaac  loved yam in its baked form and would eat all veggies put in front of him. Watching him eat broccoli one day and just about resisting gagging an exasperated Suresh declared 'He is not my son!' 

Interestingly Isaac did not take much to potatoes and rice. I guess he is not my son either! 

Suresh is so finicky that if I give a plate of food to feed Isaac or Ziva, he will carefully keep aside the veggies he does not like and not feed it to Isaac or Ziva ... like he will feel the taste in his mouth if they eat it. You will see a carefully arranged row of peas .. loved by Isaac and Ziva .... hated by Suresh at the corner of the plate.

 

So where did the taste bud come from. It definitely was not nature … was it nurture. Just offering Isaac everything and trying out new things!

Welcome Ziva and she is a step ahead of Isaac. While Isaac is a little hesitant about trying new things, probably because he is scared of spices, Ziva will taste anything. She will even annoy Isaac with 'Isaac taste … taste Isaac'

She is a small eater (small meal sizes) and a slow eater … but she is an 'everything' eater! She is definitely not my daughter!

Nature or nurture?