How do the foods your kids love/hate compare to your tastes?

[trotsky]

I love tuna. I grew up eating tuna fish sandwiches (just tuna & Miracle Whip stirred together). When I was living on my own I'd buy the cheap-ass frozen cheese pizzas and put tuna on them. But my kids won't even get near it. They will eat fish sticks, though, and one of them likes shrimp too.

Opposite: I don't like watermelon. Or really any melon, for that matter. I can force it down if it's in a fruit salad but if it can be avoided I do. But my kids DEVOUR watermelon like it's going out of style.

My wife doesn't like canned tuna, but she likes tuna steaks, and she's OK with watermelon. I would love to know how personal tastes in food arise out of one's genes.

[FourStarDemocrat]

1. I think some of my kids' tastes are hereditary..

My older son,now 12, has been crazy about steak for years. He would eat it twice a day, everyday if I'd let him. and he likes most things plain, without sauces or condiments of any kind. He also disliked eating breads for many years until recently. I think he gets this from his grandfather who's just like him, and his father, who told me that he was also the same way when he was younger. He is getting better in the past year though, trying and enjoying many foods that he stayed away from before.

My younger son loves Italian foods, things with sauces and cheeses. He's willing to try all kinds of foods, which is how I am. He's beginning to enjoy spicy things too. The only things he doesn't care for are fresh fruits and vegetables, which I have to pressure him to eat. He defintely eats more sugary candies (Jolly Ranchers, Sourpatch candies, etc) than I did as a child though, which is a difference. I didn't care for sugary stuff so much except for chocolate and ice cream.