Staring down empty grocery store shelves where eggs used to perch is hard for everyone. But even when you’re able to find a carton, the steep price tag (which is expected to rise even more) can make the most devoted egg fans rethink their purchase. Unfortunately, this dilemma can be even harder for parents, especially those whose children rely on eggs as a “safety” food.
Miranda Griswold is a California mom of two who is struggling to keep eggs in her home. “My 5-year-old has phases he goes through where he will eat only certain select foods. We call these his ‘safe foods,’” she tells Yahoo Life. “These are the foods I could serve with any meal, and I know he will eat without struggle.”
Griswold says that certain foods will make her son gag or feel “yucky,” even when he thinks about them. “Recently he decided eggs were his new favorite safe food, right when egg prices are skyrocketing — of course,” Griswold says. “He will eat them in so many different ways too. He loves them scrambled, fried like an omelet, egg salad sandwiches or even just plain hard-boiled.”
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Under normal circumstances, Griswold says this would be an “amazing breakthrough,” given her son’s difficult history with eating. “Unfortunately, eggs in my area are $7 to $8 per dozen at the moment. And that’s if you can even find them in stock,” she says. Griswold says she’s “trying to budget” for her family’s egg consumption and tries to buy the cheapest eggs she can find. But she’s been in tough situations where she’s had to choose between paying $11 for a dozen premium eggs or cheaper liquid eggs in a carton, which her son refuses to eat.
Griswold says she “broke down crying” after being faced with that dilemma. “I was just so angry at the state of everything,” she says. “I used to love grocery shopping, and now it’s just so stressful.”
Jeff Le, a public sector and tech policy consultant in the Washington, D.C., area, has also had trouble serving his 2- and 4-year-old kids the amount of eggs they want. “My kids are egg monsters,” he tells Yahoo Life. “It’s all eggs all the time. Hard-boiled. Scrambled. Over easy. It takes up multiple meals in a week.”
Le says he now has to search through five different stores in his area, along with his local farmers market, to try to buy eggs for his kids. He’s also talked to his children about why they’re being served fewer eggs. “At first, the kids were unhappy, but we found ways to show them other foods that they had gotten less of, like bagels with cream cheese or some vegetables with lots of colors to mix it up,” he says. “It took about five days before we got to a place of normal resistance versus hostility. And now when we do have eggs, they’re so excited.” Le has also had to cut back on his own egg consumption, often resorting to eating his kids’ egg leftovers, which he calls “a treat for me.”
Dallas-based dietitian and mom of three Emily Villaseca also says she’s cutting back on how often she serves her children eggs. “We usually have them for breakfast several times a week and will be cutting back to just two to three days, mostly on weekends,” she says. Villaseca says she’s rotating in more tofu scrambles, oatmeal, yogurt, avocado toast and cereal with milk to try to balance things out.
These are just a few parents trying to navigate this new egg-restricted territory. “With the shortage and surge in prices, a lot of parents are feeling like they’ve lost a reliable, affordable source of quality nutrition for their kids, and they’re not sure what foods to turn to instead,” Diana K. Rice, a pediatric nutritionist at Tiny Seed Family Nutrition, tells Yahoo Life.
The egg shortage and rising prices can be dangerous for some children
While some children may simply prefer eggs, others who deal with disordered eating can struggle to eat and even get sick as a result of not being served their preferred food, Chrissy Cammarata, a child and adult psychologist who specializes in anxiety disorders at Brandywine Psychology, tells Yahoo Life. That includes children who have conditions like avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), in which kids are very selective eaters, have a lack of interest in eating or are scared of choking, having pain or vomiting from eating.
“Kids with ARFID or who have selective eating issues can go through what we call ‘food jags,’ where they may eat one or just a few foods,” Cammarata says. “If eggs are one of those preferred foods kids are fixated on and they’re not available, they will not eat. Some of these children may end up in the hospital because of this.”
What to do if eggs are a staple food for your child
Rice points out that there’s a difference between eggs being a preferred food and having them be a “safe” option for children with selective eating or food sensitivities.
“If eggs are a staple food, the current shortage could be an opportunity to challenge your family to branch out to other options,” she says. “Families can try tofu scrambles for a similar taste and texture, or pivot to protein options like meat, beans or high-protein waffles.” She suggests framing the changes as a new adventure for your family.
“However, if eggs are among a child’s few ‘safe’ foods, my recommendation is to prioritize purchasing the eggs that you do have access to and look for ways to cut back either elsewhere in your grocery budget or through other nonessentials,” she says. “Cutting out a safe food for kids in this situation simply isn’t akin to asking them to go without a new toy. Having enough palatable food is fundamental to kids functioning well socially, emotionally and academically, and that has to be a parent’s priority.”
If your child will eat a few other, more accessible foods, Cammarata recommends adding those in more frequently. You may also be able to take eggs and pair them with other foods, or could try adding tofu to eggs, scrambling the mixture and gradually phasing out the eggs over time.
“Try to think about how to find things that have a similar consistency or taste profile and presenting them in small doses with foods your child will eat,” she says.
But Rice is hesitant for parents to talk to kids about the stress behind those egg rations. “I am always wary of parents putting ‘adult problems’ onto kids,” she says. “That certainly doesn’t mean kids shouldn’t know anything about grocery budgeting or supply chain disruptions, but it’s important for parents to explain issues in age-appropriate ways and to reassure their kids that the grown-ups are handling the problem and it’s not something kids need to worry about.”
She suggests telling younger children something like this: “Farmers are working extra hard right now, but their chickens just aren’t making as many eggs as usual. I think it will be back to normal pretty soon, but for now there just aren’t as many eggs at the store, and the ones they do have cost more money. That’s OK, though, because we’ll still buy eggs when we can, and this gives us a chance to explore other foods we like. Do you have any ideas about foods we should try?”
If your child has a selective eating issue, Cammarata suggests talking to a trusted health care provider about next steps. “Work alongside a pediatrician, psychologist or therapist who specializes in this,” she says. “This is very stressful and even traumatic for kids and parents. But there are good programs that can help kids become more tolerant of different foods.”