4 year old has stopped eating fish because 'fish are friends'

peach_tiffin_291421 Oct 2026

We're a fish-every-other-day Malayali household. Last week my daughter heard a story about a fish family at school, and now she pushes the meen curry away and says she's not eating her friends ❤️ I'm half amused and half worried. Fish was most of her protein, she's fussy about dal and eats egg only as an omelette. Do I go along with it and work around it, or keep putting it on her plate without comment? If your child went off one food like this, did it last?

2 comments

olive_window_619821 Oct 2026
Worth checking whether it is fish specifically or anything that was once an animal. My son announced he wasn't eating chicken at about the same age. It turned out to be only chicken, and only when he could recognise the shape. Curry with small pieces went back on the menu within a few weeks; drumsticks took longer. We didn't argue about it and kept eggs and paneer around in the meantime.
ochre_compass_513421 Oct 2026
Our younger one did this with meen varuthathu a few months back. Came back to it the day his chettan offered to finish it for him 😄 We didn't make a fuss, just kept serving it.