10 year old Picky eater's first cruise

[ansadler]

My middle son who just turned 10 is an extremely picky eater. He has mild sensory issues that contribute to his pickiness. It's a constant battle, but I refuse to have this battle on our cruise vacation. So, how do I figure out how to find plain chicken strips, french fries, pizza, bacon, pancakes for every meal for him without ruining the dining experience for the rest of my family?

 

We do have a suite which includes concierge and butler services. This will be our first time with these benefits so I'm hoping it will help.

 

Any other families experience this and have a strategy for success? I don't want to get stuck taking him to the buffet every meal between us trying to have sit down meals other places. Hoping other restaurants can accommodate his needs even if not on the menu.

 

Also wondering if the kids club will have plainer child-friendly options around meal times. If he likes the kids club, maybe he can do some meals in there with his brothers and that will relieve a little of the stress.

 

Any feedback would be much appreciated!

[searoses]

there is a kids menu....my 6yo grandson has the same issue...if you ask for the chicken to be cooked plain they will be happy to do it....just ask discreetly and all will be well...we are so excited...he added butter to his short list yesterday! my nephew only ate cereal and pbandj until he got a girlfriend in college! lol enjoy your cruise...

[Showtune]

A 10, he might be old enough to take some of the responsibility for food upon himself. I'd bring plenty of his "go-to" foods and snacks so that he always has something. With a picky eater and sensory issues I know that even a plain pancake may not be the RIGHT plain pancake. If he's happy to eat the same PB&J from home at the table with you every night, just go with it. The staff will be accommodating to reasonable requests and in the MDR you may even find that once you request something the first night, your waiter is prepared for the following nights. You might be surprised and he might want to follow suit and try new things, but if he doesn't, that's ok. It's not worth the fight.

 

You may want to get a Dr.'s note saying he needs his own food, just in case you encounter problems at the airport or customs.

[Kerry's Girls]

All the lines we've been on have a kids menu available in all the dining rooms at lunch and dinner with the usual kid foods including those that you mention. It sounds like you might be on NCL, in which case, I know that the kid menu is available in all the specialty dining venues as well, so the adults can enjoy nice dinners while the kids are happy as well. A cruise is actually a great way to travel with a picky eater because the waiters do bend over backward to get you what you want - and more of anything that makes the kids happy.

 

Best,

Mia

[Onessa]

The director at my DD's daycare liked to use the term "selective eater". She claims we are all selective eaters - some of us to a greater extent than others.

 

Your 10YO's tastes should be relatively easily accommodated particularly in the MDR (kids menu, ordering things individually). But ask for a separate clean plate so that if he want to try a little of something from you plate or your husbands, it will be easy to do.

 

When our DD was younger she was hesitant to try new things, but on board the ship she could ask for a tasting and if she liked it get a larger portion. And she knew she could always get plain pasta with a little butter if she did not find anything she liked. She is 16YO now and is quite an adventurous diner (and cook!)

[idalia]

Not sure this is helpful, but I hope it's inspirational nevertheless. ;)

 

http://www.thestar.com/parentcentral/family%20health/children%27s%20health/article/1088759--how-i-cured-my-picky-eater-in-china

[cb at sea]

There will be plenty of those foods...no worry!

 

Son was a "picky eater" until he was out on his own, no money and hungry....that fixed him! Now, he's quite the adventurous eater. Sometimes, hunger is a good thing!

[sherryf]

My oldest has always been a "selective eater". (Thanks to Onessa for that term!) I wouldn't even really say "picky" just has certain likes and dislikes. He has never liked dairy (has discovered as a young adult that he thinks he is lactose intolerant!) so the only dairy he eats is ice cream. He has never liked the texture of potatoes, so will only eat them in the form of potato chips or some fries. (McD's are ok.) OTOH, he loves all Asian food, including sushi, and is quite adventurous. I think kids who seem "picky" when they are young are sometimes just figuring out their own preferences and sometimes, like with the lactose intolerance, have very good reasons for their "pickiness".

 

My son went on his first cruise at 8 years old. He ordered off the regular menu every night. He ordered steaks and prime rib, usually asking for no sauce. He totally ignored any potatoes on the plate, and sometimes ate the veggies if they were something he liked. We could have asked for them to leave the potatoes and veggies off the plate, but he didn't mind them being there and sometimes would eat them. He's always been a beef lover, so he was in heaven getting to eat it every night. I took him on another cruise last year, when he was 18 for his HS graduation. He ate everything... except potatoes and dairy... and loved it all. Some might say he's "picky" but I say he just eats what he likes, and in some ways he's a lot more adventurous with food than I am!

 

So, the point of all this is that you should give your son the opportunity to try anything that sounds good to him, but let him eat his favorites every day if that's what he wants. A big plate of bacon every morning for breakfast? Why not?! It's vacation and he's 10. Let him enjoy what he likes! You should have no problem finding things he likes, and the waiters will be very accommodating if you ask for things "plain".

[seashinesunshine]

My middle son who just turned 10 is an extremely picky eater. He has mild sensory issues that contribute to his pickiness. It's a constant battle, but I refuse to have this battle on our cruise vacation. So, how do I figure out how to find plain chicken strips, french fries, pizza, bacon, pancakes for every meal for him without ruining the dining experience for the rest of my family?

 

We do have a suite which includes concierge and butler services. This will be our first time with these benefits so I'm hoping it will help.

 

Any other families experience this and have a strategy for success? I don't want to get stuck taking him to the buffet every meal between us trying to have sit down meals other places. Hoping other restaurants can accommodate his needs even if not on the menu.

 

Also wondering if the kids club will have plainer child-friendly options around meal times. If he likes the kids club, maybe he can do some meals in there with his brothers and that will relieve a little of the stress.

 

Any feedback would be much appreciated!

 

Yeah like others said he will have no trouble with the kids menus in the MDR. Chicken strips fries burgers... I have shared on here a few times my kids ate so much bacon on the buffet that it was years before they ate bacon again. :D It's readily available! Your waiter should be willing to put together a plate for him if it's not on the menu.

As a picky eater myself, please don't make an issue on the trip about it for his sake. I am in my 40's and I still get tense and almost physically sick when I am around some of my family who still nag, rag and push on me about what I eat. Not worth the battle and we picky kids do grow up and try things when we want to. :)

Have fun!!!!

[ansadler]

Thanks everyone for all the great feedback! I feel much more informed now and assumed there were kids menus out there, but hadn't seen them yet. I completely agree that it's our family VACATION so I refuse to stress over his eating.. We do enough of that around here. So, we'll stick to whatever he wants (within reason of course...don't want him sugared up and whiny the whole time..).

 

Happy Cruising to all!!

 

PS- Love the "selective eater" term.. may start using that one! ;)

[newbiecruiser09]

The director at my DD's daycare liked to use the term "selective eater". She claims we are all selective eaters - some of us to a greater extent than others.

 

Your 10YO's tastes should be relatively easily accommodated particularly in the MDR (kids menu, ordering things individually). But ask for a separate clean plate so that if he want to try a little of something from you plate or your husbands, it will be easy to do.

 

When our DD was younger she was hesitant to try new things, but on board the ship she could ask for a tasting and if she liked it get a larger portion. And she knew she could always get plain pasta with a little butter if she did not find anything she liked. She is 16YO now and is quite an adventurous diner (and cook!)

 

LOVE the "selective eater" term!

 

I was also going to say that a cruise is a great place for kids to try new things cause they can always have their favorite stand bys in case they don't like something. Our DD (6 last cruise) is a selective eater by choice but last cruise we made a deal with her to try something new each day. She was able to try a bite or two and then if she didn't like it (most of the stuff she tried) she could have her own choices. Mostly she was trying new veggies and some meats but she also tried some sauces she was not willing to at home. We didn't make a big deal about it, and she is still rather hesitant to go outside her comfort zone. but is getting a little better as she gets older (my older son did not get "adventurous" til he was about 12)

[crusinmama06]

You are in luck :) I had I go into your posting history (hope you don't mind) and it looks like you are cruising on an NCL ship - I keep all of the kids menus at the link in my signature but I will post NCLs here. His favorites are available BOTH in the MDRs and in the specialty restaurants

 

This is the one from the Specialty Restaurants

 

And this is from the MDRs

 

 

And what till you do a suite! They will do anything for him!

[Keith1010]

There are kids menus and just let the waitstaff know and they will be very helpful.

 

Keith

[ShellDil]

My son was 12 on his first cruise and is an incredibly picky eater. He was in food heaven! He could get pizza nearly 24 hrs a day! He also found that he loved steak, and he ordered it every night in the MDR! He ate tons of cheese cubes from the buffet with his breakfast and lunches. He too found his plain pancakes. He's looking forward to our next cruise just so he can be a successful " selective" eater! I think you son will be fine!

[ansadler]

You are in luck :) I had I go into your posting history (hope you don't mind) and it looks like you are cruising on an NCL ship - I keep all of the kids menus at the link in my signature but I will post NCLs here. His favorites are available BOTH in the MDRs and in the specialty restaurants

 

This is the one from the Specialty Restaurants

 

And this is from the MDRs

 

 

And what till you do a suite! They will do anything for him!

 

Thanks Michele. Very helpful info!!!

[crusinmama06]

Thanks Michele. Very helpful info!!!

 

You are very welcome! And I wanted to add - one thing we didn't use on NCL and we SHOULD have was the butler bringing food to the cabin! Before we left we heard all about the butler - but I missed the important stuff. The butler can be used to bring things like "afternoon snacks and lemonade"

 

Oh and at the kids buffet - there are plain pancakes :) This kid cafe was on Gem.

 

[Cheryl H]

We have a sensory kiddo too. He is 7. I'm interested to know if your 10 year old has been making progress trying new foods. Has it gotten any easier now that he's 10? I think our son only added 2 new things to his likes last year. It's a long road. I can usually get him to at least smell or even lick a new food. Have you seen the books "Just Take A Bite" and Food Chaining"? I tried the food chaining for awhile. I did end up getting him to eat fish sticks.

 

We did fine on our cruise. I think our son ordered grilled cheese sandwiches for the nights that he went to the main dining room. Oddly, the sandwiches came with a tomato slice on it and we had them leave that off.

 

We took a few Jif-to-go's in our luggage. Then we purchased a loaf of bread on one of our stops, but we could have packed that too. I packed plastic knives too. There were evenings back in our room where he hadn't really had enough to eat during the day so we fixed him a PB sandwich.

 

Also our son did the adventure dining about 3 times. Not sure if your cruise line offers that or not. On RCCL, we would sign him up that day, and check which food he preferred. (chicken nuggets and fries). Then we would drop him off at 6:00 pm and the staff took him to dinner at the buffet and then on to the kids activities that evening. He loved it!

 

I can't remember what he had for breakfast. He won't try bacon or sausage or anything that smells. I think he probably had a pancake and yogurt. He really only likes soft foods.

 

We had another sensory issue on last year's cruise. I don't know if it was being on vacation, strange bathrooms, or just what, but he refused to go to the bathroom for #2. We ended up having to search in Canada for a drugstore and purchased glycerin suppositories. I think it was day 3 or 4 that we had to use one of them and it was successful.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

[Jimnbigd]

Kids can also order off the adult menu, and adults can even order something for themselves from the kids menu. Mix and match any way you want.

Buffets are also open at night. Some parents take the kids to the buffet, then drop the kids off at the kids area and go to dinner by themselves.

This usually means either the late fixed-time dinner or an "anytime" dinner.

From other posts from you, it looks like you are on the NCL star, which is always "anytime" dinner.

So, the buffet for the son and dinner for yourselves later might be a good option some nights.