My Two-Year-Old Eats Octopus: Raising Children Who Love to Eat Everything [Paperback]

Nancy Tringali Piho (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2009

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.

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Bull Publishing Company (November 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933503173
• ISBN-13: 978-1933503172
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Her next books: "My teenager gets straight A's.", November 15, 2009

By 

Andrew Davidson "Le Carre junkie" (North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Two-Year-Old Eats Octopus: Raising Children Who Love to Eat Everything (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!). Each chapter has some bullet points to take away, and the ones in this chapter were definitely more helpful than what came before: either more pats on her own back, or statements about kids whose parents are clearly NEVER going to buy this book (e.g., the 7 % of kids who eat french fries every day).

Oh, and also, homemade baby food is cheaper than the kind that comes in the jar! (You're a bad parent if you're not making homemade baby food like she did.)

My kids were good sleepers. Would sleep-deprived parents of a baby with colic buy my book, "My Two-Month-Old Slept Through the Night!"?

If your kids are perfect eaters, buy this book and gloat with the author.

Otherwise, if you're the kind of person actually in the market for this book because you've reached the "aw shucks" stage with your kids' eating habits, I'd save your money.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting perspective on changed eating habits.., April 8, 2010

By 

Marian Blazes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Two-Year-Old Eats Octopus: Raising Children Who Love to Eat Everything (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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Two Year Old Eats Octopus: Raising Children Who Love to Eat Everything, May 1, 2010

By 

Food Reader "Food Reader" (Southeast) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: My Two-Year-Old Eats Octopus: Raising Children Who Love to Eat Everything (Paperback)

First, I have to say that I write this review from the biased perspective of being a foodie mom. I love food, cooking, restaurants, cookbooks, the Food Network, everything associated with eating good food. I want my kids (15 mths, 3 and 5) to grow up that way, too, sharing in the joys of our family meals. And never have I come across a book that so perfectly lays out the best way for parents to achieve that!

All I can say is that this book really, really gets it. The author gets what it's like to be a parent who wants her kids to eat more than buttered pasta noodles and applesauce, doesn't want them snacking all day on Goldfish and string cheese in place of meals, or growing up thinking that soda is a desirable beverage. And she gets what it's like to try to put that in place in a kids' world (daycare, playgroups, nursery school, birthday parties, babysitters, etc.) that think that "kiddie food" is the only thing that children will eat. If you ever feel like you're swimming upstream because you give your baby steamed and pureed "real" carrots instead of the "carrotesque" product in a jar of baby food, then this is the book for you. (And after you read the section on taste test comparisons between jarred baby foods and the real thing, you'll never buy another packet of that stuff again.)

Be prepared: This book will make you think. You may not agree with every single point or concept, but overall, it's a fascinating look at the world that has become "kiddie eating" in the last ten to fifteen years or so. Like the author, I can't believe how much has changed in just a generation or two, before the days of so much special catering to kids and dumbing down their food options.

There is also a TON of practical advice that shows you that it's really not so hard to teach your kids that vegetables don't taste "bad," just "different!" Or that there are restaurants where you do sit down, order, eat and behave yourself. It takes practice, consistency and commitment to that message, which believe me, will be reinforced after you read this book. It's perfect for any parent with young kids in their lives.