Picky. How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History (en Inglés) - Helen Zoe Veit

An eye-opening investigation into why American kids no longer eat broadly and with gusto

"Enlightening ... a rigorous and persuasive call for change." ―Publishers Weekly, Starred

"Upends our assumptions about the foods children can and will eat with gusto."―Bettina Elias Siegel, author of Kid Food

Are children naturally picky? It sure seems that way. Yet, amazingly, pickiness used to be almost nonexistent. Well into the 20th century, Americans saw children as joyful omnivores who were naturally curious and eager to eat. Of course, this doesn't make sense today. Don't kids have special taste buds? Aren't they highly sensitive to food's texture and color? Aren’t children incapable of liking “adult foods,” and don’t parents risk harming kids psychologically by urging them to eat?

But Americans in the past didn’t think any of those things. They assumed that children could enjoy the same foods as adults, and children almost always did. They loved spicy relishes, vinegary pickles, and bitter greens. They spent their allowances on raw oysters and looked forward to their daily coffee. So how did modern kids become such incredibly narrow eaters? The story is fascinating – and about much more than rising abundance. Picky shows how fussy eating came to define "children’s food" and reshape American diets at large. Maybe most importantly, it explains how we can still use the tools that parents used in the past to raise happy, healthy, wildly un-picky kids today.

"The picky eating habits of contemporary U.S. children were far from inevitable, according to this enlightening study... a rigorous and persuasive call for change."
—Publishers Weekly, Starred

"Veit argues that parents should promote diverse diets to raise healthier and happier children."
—Booklist

"Like many modern parents trying to figure out how to feed my kid, I often feel trapped between contradictory – and equally dogmatic – approaches. Helen Veit shows us that these anxieties are not inevitable."
—Mara Gordon, MD, NPR contributor and “Your Doctor Friend” on Substack

"This well-told history explains how a wrongheaded notion became conventional wisdom, with disastrous consequences for kids and parents alike."
—Laura Shapiro, author of What She Ate

"A profound historical investigation and a call to action."
—Paul Freedman, Department of History, Yale University, author of Why Food Matters

"In her meticulously researched and eminently readable history of children's eating habits Helen Veit reveals not only how American kids learned to be such picky eaters but exposes the food attitudes of the grown-ups in the kitchen."
—Michael Krondl, author of Sweet Invention

"In breezy, often humorous prose, Helen Veit traces the many forces that created today’s ‘kid food’ and upends our assumptions about the foods children can and will eat with gusto."
—Bettina Elias Siegel, author of Kid Food

"Picky shows us how picky eaters aren't born but made and shows parents how to sort through the conflicting advice to help their children become happy, healthy eaters."
—Andrew Coe, author of James Beard Award-winning A Square Meal