how on earth...

So I just don't get it. How on earth did the species survive when all of our toddlers/preschoolers routinely go on hunger strikes and show every inclination to starve themselves? :crazy:

It boggles the mind...

My only theory so far is that they picked up this behavior in utero. Perhaps mom set a bad example by consuming half a bowl of mac-n-cheese (the box kind) a day, and nothing else, while growing two babies. (And I AM talking about myself here!) :lol:

 

I guess the inclination to starve yourself meshes well with scarcity of food

My Hannah is growing out of her 3T clothes and is already starting to wear some 4T's. How she is growing that body so big when she only takes 3 bites of dinner is a mystery!!

 

I've been thinking about this a lot lately...here's my theory: the reason it works evolutionarily is that as kids start to get more and more independent and mobile, they have more opportunities to eat the wrong (ie. dangerous) thing. So the extreme pickiness and general lack of appetite kept them out of danger long enough for their intelligence to catch up with their physical abilities...

On the other hand, is it really so bad to eat nothing but plums and bread all day long?

 

I don't understand either. But, none of my kids has ever missed a meal! We do some snack, but usually by the time I make a meal, they will eat. But, there are times when they won't eat parts of the meal because they don't like it (never tried it).

 

Yeah, what did preschooler eat before the invention of hot dogs?

 

:rofl:

 

I suspect that when all there was to eat was a handful of berries and a roasted mammoth haunch, they ate that.

I like this theory! And it's true (as I understand it, anyway) that our general aversion to certain tastes/smells/squishiness/etc is a defense against eating things that might be poisonous or rotten. So it stands to reason that toddlers who ate things that violated those rules were more likely not to survive to adulthood.

And the point about scarcity is good too. Kids were more likely to survive if they manage to grow while only eating sporadically.

 

No clue. Since I have one that survived for an entire year exclusively on canned chickpeas, she would have done pretty poorly before the advent of agriculture and canning techniques. Although, the chickpea was one of the earliest cultivated crops, so maybe she would have been okay.

 

Chickpeas?!?! Are you serious??

 

yeah maybe toddler food strikes are a throw back from the stone age

 

and chicken nuggets?

 

Well.....at least they'll be REGULAR!!! :laughing: I have fruit kids too!

I swear....they are going to go to college on chicken fries and ranch!!!

 

I was totally thinking about starting this exact same topic ! I seriously cant understand how they survive on the little that they eat. I jump for joy at practically any morsel of food that they actually eat. I was so excited when they each took a bite of my porkchop last week. Its scary. But yet .. they are growing. Its pretty nice on the wallet since I dont have to prepare extra food for them .. but I would love for them to eat a nice steak sometime. Tonight we are going to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner .. maybe I can get them to eat some fries and maybe a few bites of meat. Wish me luck !