Why Do Kids Leave The Crusts?

Both of my children from babies (when weaned at 6 months obviously!) have been brought up on wholemeal bread, and given their crusts (I never cut them off - it never occurred to me to do so).  Yet, now they leave them.
 
Today, I sat there watching Kieran eat his lunch of pizza (cheese on toast, with a layer of tomato puree) and would get to the crusts and leave them.  "Don't like them," he'd said, pushing his plate away.

He's eaten them before.  Used to eat them all the time.  But since he's got older (now just over three-years old and at preschool) he's seen that his brother leaves his crusts, so now he doesn't like them, too.

Ben was exactly the same.  He always ate his crusts.  However, he didn't have an older brother.  So maybe Ben was later with his fussiness, but it's definitely been since he's started school that he leaves his crusts.  I can guarantee his crusts will be in his lunch box when I open it up after school.

I know that it's because he's seen one child leave his crusts, so he's started to.  It's like everything else, a sort of peer pressure. 

I refuse to cut the crusts off.  Especially, as sometimes, when they're not concentrating, they eat the crusts! (Sneaky mummy).

I kick myself too, when I order a sandwich for the boys (on the rare occasion we are out and about for lunch) and forget to ask for brown bread (if there's an option).  It automatically comes out in white bread.  What is it?  Do they think kids don't like brown bread?  If you give it to them from the start they will.  They won't know any different.

Why is it automatic to give a child white bread?

There is absolutely nothing nutritious about a slice of white bread!  Don't get me wrong, it is nice with bacon sandwiches, or a fried egg occasionally (I'm a believer of everything in moderation).  Or a fresh uncut loaf, thickly cut, lightly toasted with butter melting.... mmm....  But really wholemeal bread (I actually won't buy 'brown' for fear that's its just coloured white bread) is better for you and your kids. 

Luckily my kids haven't piped up that they don't like brown bread.  Because tough! They're not getting anything else.

So there I was today wondering, where does the crust thing actually start?  Is it some vicious circle?  Surely with all the nutrition guidelines now you'd start your kids off on brown bread, and leave the crusts on.

Maybe, from now on, if all parents club together and feed their kids wholemeal/brown bread from the start, and don't cut the crusts off, we'll have less fussier children when it comes to eating a sandwich.

Crusts are the best bit for you.  Good for your teeth, so I got told as a child.... So of course that's what I tell mine.

I won't push the crust issue, just try to encourage the boys to eat them and hope they'll grow out of it.  As I said, I'm not going to start cutting the crusts off.  So for the time being, at least the birds get a feed....