Approaching its topic with humor, style, and a critical eye, this unique guidebook enables parents to provide a healthy and diverse diet for their children. Instead of providing yet another guide to kids’ nutrition, a medical discussion, a treatise on the perils of obesity, or a parenting primer on good table manners, this study demonstrates that children need to be taught how to eat well just as they are taught to walk. With detailed guidance from nutritionists, physicians, scientists, and chefs, this handbook details how to find the right foods, how to overcome recurring problems, and emphasize the healthiest elements. Dealing with the picky eater and the real worries about obesity and good nutrition, this survey posits that youngsters eat the way they do because of how the parents themselves eat—and shows how to combat any and all bad habits. Offering plenty of information on how to go about serious change and where to find the best resources, this reference is guaranteed to broaden the horizon of any child’s menu.
My Two-Year-Old Eats Octopus
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Nancy Tringali Piho works in public relations for a number of national food industry associations. She lives in Washington, DC.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
73 of 92 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In case the title doesn't seem self-congratulatory enough, wait until you read the introduction - paragraphs about what a perfect eater the author's 2-year-old was! (No offense to him, I'm sure a great kid.) Clearly they were unaware that their market is people who don't have it so easy - people who can't take their kid into a trendy Peruvian restaurant and eat ceviche and arrepas, while other diners raved what a great eater he is!
If you happen to be the parent of a child that is an adventurous eater, I think this book was designed for you, because the first six chapters are bragging tales about how well she and her husband have gotten her kids to eat everything. Also, children of chefs are less picky, because chefs CARE about food. Also, children in other countries have less picky eaters than our stupid country (e.g., Gerber South Korea has daikon root baby food!... Lebanese children eat hummus!!! ... Oh, the French!).
Why are your kids picky eaters? Because a) your kids eat way too much fast food, b) your kids watch too much commercial television (4 hours a day!), c) you're a picky eater, and d) you don't like to cook.
Well, my kids rarely eat fast food, don't watch commercial television, I am not a picky eater, and my wife (a FOOD Writer!) and I cook. Extensively. And my kids are picky eaters. And we do lots of the things she says, like have regular meal times, and having them help us cook.
I will be fair - by Chapter 7, the author does reveal a) she had a hard time feeding her kids vegetables once! b) kids don't like foods that are mixed up (and there are even physiological reasons for this), and c) kids are averse to eating vegetables (again, physiologically!).... Read more ›
If you happen to be the parent of a child that is an adventurous eater, I think this book was designed for you, because the first six chapters are bragging tales about how well she and her husband have gotten her kids to eat everything. Also, children of chefs are less picky, because chefs CARE about food. Also, children in other countries have less picky eaters than our stupid country (e.g., Gerber South Korea has daikon root baby food!... Lebanese children eat hummus!!! ... Oh, the French!).
Why are your kids picky eaters? Because a) your kids eat way too much fast food, b) your kids watch too much commercial television (4 hours a day!), c) you're a picky eater, and d) you don't like to cook.
Well, my kids rarely eat fast food, don't watch commercial television, I am not a picky eater, and my wife (a FOOD Writer!) and I cook. Extensively. And my kids are picky eaters. And we do lots of the things she says, like have regular meal times, and having them help us cook.
I will be fair - by Chapter 7, the author does reveal a) she had a hard time feeding her kids vegetables once! b) kids don't like foods that are mixed up (and there are even physiological reasons for this), and c) kids are averse to eating vegetables (again, physiologically!).... Read more ›
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found this book a fascinating read, even though my children are older and mostly past the picky eater phase. What was so interesting was the author's exploration of some of the societal (and marketing) changes that affect all of our eating habits - adults and children alike. Children used to have fewer choices, and they ate pretty much what their parents did. The author notes how nowadays there are a slew of food products marketed just to children, and how many of these products don't even taste like real food - many have fantastical flavors and neon colors, for example. (It was surprising to learn what the author discovered when she had her friends and family taste test the baby and toddler food products). She concludes that many parents just accept the notion that children eat their own special foods, completely separate from what adults eat.
I strongly agree with the author that, just like pretty much everything else in life, good eating habits and good nutrition need to be taught to kids. It takes time, and you may not see results right away, but letting your own eating habits serve as an example will go far in the long run.
I strongly agree with the author that, just like pretty much everything else in life, good eating habits and good nutrition need to be taught to kids. It takes time, and you may not see results right away, but letting your own eating habits serve as an example will go far in the long run.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By S. Nicholas
Format:Paperback
This book is overrated. It does not discuss any sensory concerns a child might have, nor does it discuss normal (proven) developmental milestones that occur with children. The author whines quite a bit about 'american' culture and is critical about typical american feeding styles offering few alternatives, except to raise your child with a chef in the home - with a food budget to match.
11 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By Me
Format:Paperback
I love to cook and we don't keep "junk" in our home. He refuses most everyting, even french fries!!! He'll take a couple licks of ice cream and than say he is done. So no he isn't filling up on empty calories. Surfice it to say this book helped me non-what-so-ever. And I have never babied his taste buds or cooked special for him {less or no salt though!} He is served a variety of tasty dishes but won't eat any of it. If you have high hopes of this book solving your child's eating issues borrow instead of buying it.
13 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By A. Much
Format:Paperback
This book could have been one page long. I am pregnant and hope to raise a non-picky eater, and there weren't any practical tips in the book. It's basically a narrative about her own child, which somehow makes her qualified to write an entire book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Author Nancy Piho makes so many great points that I as a mom, grandmother, and cooking teacher, can expand on. Not that my two-year-old ever said "more octopus," but trips to a Farmers Market that offers tastings of fresh local ingredients sold one of my grandchildren on strawberries, and another on broccoli. Keeping the 'green' world in mind these days could be one of the Piho 'plays' in her book --- growing and eating this food could make the world better for 'you' to live in. This fits in with sustainable seafood and Seafood Watch at the Monterey Museum or showing children how to read the nutritional labeling.
It's the real life situations described that win you over and make you laugh. Until you read this book you may have thought you were the only one who had a child that would only eat plain pasta and chocolate anything. It's fun to be proven wrong.
It's the real life situations described that win you over and make you laugh. Until you read this book you may have thought you were the only one who had a child that would only eat plain pasta and chocolate anything. It's fun to be proven wrong.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
There are a lot of books out there about feeding children, but this is the first one I've seen that doesn't focus on nutrition and numbers. Instead, the author comes from a food-lover point of view, as well as a scientific sensory point of view. There are many things in here that I am already trying to incorporate in my own life, because I want my kids to love good food as much as I do.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring!
I picked up this book because I have a 10 year old who eats nothing but bland, colorless foods. I found it extremely inspirational and full of great concepts and ideas. Read more
Published on May 11, 2010 by P. Tait
5.0 out of 5 stars
Opened My Eyes
This book was fantastic. I had no idea what I was doing to my children. I was more interested in making sure they got fed and not what they were eating. Read more
Published on February 9, 2010 by Theodore R. Kramer
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is an important book - all parents should read!
I'm so glad to see a book about kids and eating that actually talks about getting children to like the TASTE of various foods! Read more
Published on January 26, 2010 by Patricia Bannan
5.0 out of 5 stars
An outstanding recommendation for any parents' library
Why are so many kids picky eaters, and how can a parent raise a kid to 'eat anything'? My Two-Year-Old Eats Octopus is a fine survey that asks everyone from chefs to medical... Read more
Published on January 16, 2010 by Midwest Book Review
4.0 out of 5 stars
Raising Great Eaters
My sons are grown now, and they enjoy eating and trying all foods. (In fact, my culinary offspring -- as I refer to them -- now blog with me about that on [... Read more
Published on December 18, 2009 by Bonnie Tandy Leblang
5.0 out of 5 stars
Feeding kids healthfully with a different angle
As a nutritionist and mother of three boys, I've always found it frustrating that people often assume kids will only eat plain, boring food that is usually high in fat, salt and... Read more
Published on December 13, 2009 by Hillary M. Wright
4.0 out of 5 stars
Something New in the Realm of Parenting Advice!!
I was the top bidder on this book that was offered at a silent auction benefitting a local charity I attended. Read more
Published on December 13, 2009 by G. Nordlinger
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nurture or Nature?
I'm a professionally trained chef and a mother, and I think this book is spot-on. Excellent advice on how to teach the importance of good food and cooking, from your kids earliest... Read more
Published on December 10, 2009 by Lisa Cherkasky
