Children are typically picky eaters – but a mother is struggling to cope with her daughter’s preference for only pink food.
She told Parenting her daughter is a ‘girly girl’ to the highest degree – even in her diet.
“She’s taken this obsession with her favourite colour one step further in that she’ll only eat foods that are pink,” she told Moncrieff.
“I’ll let you rack your brains to come to the conclusion that there are not many foods, as you would hope, that match this description.
“I’m sick of using red food colouring or mixing ketchup and mayonnaise together to spruce up her food – what is with this fixation?”
Family psychotherapist Joanna Fortune said it’s “absolutely normal” for children to “fixate” on a particular colour.
“I imagine the simple answer here is she likes the colour pink,” she said.
“She demands it in all aspects of her life – and she’s getting it, so therefore she keeps demanding it.”
Joanna said food is a “sensory experience”, so the mother could introduce the colour in a different sensory way so her daughter doesn’t only eat pink.
“Letting her make potions, you could make perfume – flowers and water,” she said. “She can mix with water and fill jam jars full of homemade perfume.”
Ham. Image: Valeriy Novikov / Alamy Stock PhotoThe mother should also tell her daughter that we need food of all tastes, sizes and colours.
“Our body also needs orange and green and whatever else you want to throw in there,” Joanna said.
To help her daughter adjust to a slightly less pink world, the mother should introduce ‘pink days’ where all food is pink.
“You could designate one pink food day per week and work yourself to one pink meal per week,” Joanna said.
“Go all out on the designated day and really celebrate it – you’re really kind of scratching that itch for her.”
Deserts also make the perfect area for pink treats the daughter can enjoy, according to Joanna.
Pink foods include strawberry yoghurt, ham, and salmon – not the best combination.
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