I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS A PLANET

Half of the world's children may be starving, but the trend among mature, upscale urban parents (MUUPs) is to turn their offspring into miniature foodie versions of themselves.

They are sending them to cooking clases where they make haute cuisine, and dining out with them at NYC's top restaurants -- where they wear ties and order from the adult menu.

(One of these kids is named Plum).

"It's a badge of urban sophisticate honor to have your kid be an adventurous eater," says one of the offenders quoted in the New York Times article, These Kid Never say 'Yech'"!

Nope -- it's the readers who are retching.


"Some mothers start children’s gastronomic education while still pregnant, eating spicy and garlicky meals, and continue to do so while nursing, citing research that suggests children exposed to many tastes through breast milk or in the womb are less likely to be picky eaters."

How many people eating garlic and paying $40 for a fancy kid's cooking lesson do you suppose donate to groups devoted to eradicating world hunger?

But it's not all fun and Frankenstein games.

"Mr. Ripert admitted he learned a lesson when he offered his son, Adrien, now 3, a burger that was medium-rare — the only way real food snobs will eat it — at 18 months.

"'I didn’t want him to have meat well done his whole life,' Mr. Ripert explained. 'The nanny said, "You don’t do that for a baby." I did it. He got sick. Since then we have been reluctant with red meat. I do spaghetti Bolognese and he loves that. But no steak yet.'"

All together now:

YECH!