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The UX on this small child is terrible

mcsweeneys.net

311–320 of 366 posts

Re: The UX on this small child is terrible

#312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can somebody explain the "won't eat vegetables" thing? The only place I've heard about this being in issue is in America.

My kid (~2 years) prefers to eat food they like the taste of most. Turns out that they prefer the sweet tastes of biscuits and even bananas etc to broccoli and carrots. They'll whinge and whine about being hungry, so you offer them some peas or avocado or something and they will literally push it out of the way, look you straight in the eye, and tell you about how hungry they are (...but not hungry enough to eat the…

From a very young age, me Small Child liked peas frozen. I think the temperature sensation and contrast with other foods must have been interesting.

Re: The UX on this small child is terrible

#313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sugar/bread is easier. We solve this by having a tiered eating system that starts with some salad or veggies, if they don’t eat, they clearly aren’t deathly hungry; dessert is available at the end of the meal if they finish. Note this may require a family eating culture that includes salad et al. With every dinner, which is not the norm in America.

I wonder if it's also the preparation method. Steamed veggies are of course not appealing vs ones flash fried in a little oil/butter plus salt.

Or raw - my child still loves raw veggies: carrots, broccoli, sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumber.

Re: The UX on this small child is terrible

#314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Talking by experience, my kids would just eat dessert and cry later that they want more dessert. I went in the opposite direction. I put a small portion of meat on the dish. When it's over, I put some vegetables; rinse and repeat until the portion of food is assimilated. It seems like giving small goals is helping with going through the entire dinner and not having a choice minimises building up dislike for a specifi…

This is honestly the most original take I've ever seen on handling picky kids, and despite it being sort of in jest I can't help but think there's some potential validity. Kids tend to be pretty easy to manipulate when it comes to food (e.g. "broccoli is tiny trees!"), as long as you can find the fulcrum point from which to pivot the presentation. I hadn't considered the choice/reinforcement aspect of this before, an…

I told mine that brussels sprouts were cabbages grown by fairies. They love them now.

Re: The UX on this small child is terrible

#315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My kid (~2 years) prefers to eat food they like the taste of most. Turns out that they prefer the sweet tastes of biscuits and even bananas etc to broccoli and carrots. They'll whinge and whine about being hungry, so you offer them some peas or avocado or something and they will literally push it out of the way, look you straight in the eye, and tell you about how hungry they are (...but not hungry enough to eat the…

So do they not class carrots as sweet at all? Is this related to kids hating olives at all?

I've never met a kid who hates olives!

Re: The UX on this small child is terrible

#316
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We put everything on a plate and offer it to the child(ren). Then, if they become hungry later on, they can return to said plate and continue eating. Dessert is considered "equal", so we place it on their plate. However, that also means that they can't raid the pantry for snacks afterward. It seems to be working. Our oldest ate celery and peanut butter the other day, which is pretty unexpected to us.

Talking by experience, my kids would just eat dessert and cry later that they want more dessert. I went in the opposite direction. I put a small portion of meat on the dish. When it's over, I put some vegetables; rinse and repeat until the portion of food is assimilated. It seems like giving small goals is helping with going through the entire dinner and not having a choice minimises building up dislike for a specifi…

Kids are very different. My first daughter had a healthy appetite while small, then after a cold she became a very picky eater; she remains somewhat picky today, as an adult. The second daughter, we "trained" to eat varied, healthy food. We were proud of ourselves and thought we know "how it's done". The third one broke us completely - at some point we were begging her "eat this cupcake, it has loads of chocolate!"

Re: The UX on this small child is terrible

#317
post #66

Just wait until the automatic over-the-air updates kick in and the Small Child becomes Teenage Child without your consent. All your favorite Small Child features are now buried 5-layers deep under confusing menus that are apparently different on each version. I found it under: Late Night -> Food -> Sugary Foods -> Milkshakes -> Make Your Own -> Enable Small Child Fun Mode

Our models have OTA Updates included since delivery. The updates are slow and take 10-12h each day. We processes them during the night so that we can use our models during the day.

Although the updates take very long and happen every night, the improvements are really minor, but at least they’re there. So we’re hoping to have fully functional and independent models after maybe 16 years or so.

Re: The UX on this small child is terrible

#318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> children won't eat grownup food so you should offer something else. Having grown up in an immigrant household where the children’s plate is just a smaller version of the adult plate, is this a thing in American households? The kids eat an entirely separate meal-course from the adults? I know baby food is processed but once a kid gets teeth, they’re just given what the adults eat. My grandmother would have banish fr…

That's what kids' menus are at restaurants. Spaghetti & meatballs, chicken fingers, mac 'n cheese, pizza, sometimes fish & chips. The same staple foods that basically all kids will eat, as a separate meal course. My wife grew up in an immigrant family, I grew up in a half-immigrant (but largely Americanized) family. This was an element of culture shock for her. In American culture the norm is that everybody eats what…

> Like I said, in American culture, the norm is that if you have the means to make yourself or your family happy, you should do it, and it's not that hard to get a 5 lb bag of dino nuggets from Costco when we go.

That is a perfect example explaining the huge problems with (child and adult) obesity and all the health-related problems originating from it, which are also very much "the norm" in American culture.

"Let's optimize for short-term happiness! The only reason why you maybe shouldn't do that in a particular occasion is because you lack the money!"

With the same reasoning you should also probably buy and take crystal meth if you can afford it. It's definitely a powerful boost for happiness, you can make the whole family happy as never before with just one small lump of the stuff!

Re: The UX on this small child is terrible

#319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My kid (~2 years) prefers to eat food they like the taste of most. Turns out that they prefer the sweet tastes of biscuits and even bananas etc to broccoli and carrots. They'll whinge and whine about being hungry, so you offer them some peas or avocado or something and they will literally push it out of the way, look you straight in the eye, and tell you about how hungry they are (...but not hungry enough to eat the…

Classic symptoms of sugar addiction. I've found it takes around three weeks without sugar to reset this, then the sugar cravings hacking the system disappear.

> they will literally push it out of the way, look you straight in the eye, and tell you about how hungry they are

While "sugar addiction" has it merits, the main problem here is the parents who are toyed around by a little egoist... and they are happy to oblige.

Re: The UX on this small child is terrible

#320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not a naturally picky eater. It has really helped in my world travels. The one thing I cannot deal with is Beets. Which is the only food my father hated.

Have you tried Borscht with beef? It transforms beets into an entirely different thing. My favorite item from Ukrainian/Russian cusine.

Yum. Or even with fermented beets! Borscht is delicious
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