Picky Kids?

Why do people think that children are picky eaters? Sure, most of them won't touch vegetables, but kids will eat things that most grownups can't even think about without feeling queasy in the stomach. Take sand, for instance. What baby hasn't tasted (and loved) sand? Or anything that has fallen to the ground. When the twins were about a year old, I could have used them to clean up the kitchen floor instead of a vacuum. Today I discovered Philip and James in the kitchen, taking turns drinking -- no, GULPING -- down a bottle of Nesquick Chocolate Syrup. Yesterday I caught James sampling some Play-Doh. It must be from Graham's side -- ketchup and rice was as weird as I got when I was a kid. Graham's mother, however, tells me that he used to eat coal.

On a more sobering note, however, this omnivore tendency in kids can be fatal. I actually know someone whose 1-year old child died from poisoning. When his mother and nanny were engrossed in a tv show, he crawled over to the kitchen cabinet and drank a bottle of Zonrox Bleach. So keep your household cabinets locked, moms, and remember that there are worse things than a child who eats only macaroni and cheese.