Why to parents always tell you you have to eat your dinner before you get to eat your dessert? My daughter asked me this, and I don't feel right saying "Because I said so." My parents use to tell me that. Can you really get higher colesterol from doing so?
2007-03-05 11:41:45 · 43 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
You eat dinner first because it is the most nutritious part of the meal. You want her to get all her veggies and protein and everything that she needs to be healthy. If she filled up on dessert first, she might not be hungry enough to eat all the healthy foods she really needs.
2007-03-05 11:49:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've never heard any such thing about the colesterol. And I would relay that dessert is not automatically a part of dinner. It's a reward for eating dinner. Think: did you get dessert if you didn't eat your dinner? No. Dessert is not a given. But, if your confident they'll eat their dinner I would just give them the dessert first.
2007-03-05 12:54:03 · answer #2 · answered by manybagolike 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Parents tell kids to eat dinner first because some kids only eat dessert and miss out on much-needed nutrition.
2007-03-05 11:44:55 · answer #3 · answered by la buena bruja 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's actually a good reason. If you eat all your dessert first, you may not want your dinner, and eating desert-only meals is NOT healthy - you'd end up with loads more cholesterol, fat, sugars, etc. Consider a dessert your reward for eating the healthy stuff first :-)
2007-03-05 11:50:06 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The answer is "Because dinner has things that you need to make your body grow. Dessert has lots of sugar and while it tastes good, it doesn't help you grow. So eat the good stuff first and if you still have room, you may have a little dessert."
2007-03-05 11:46:21 · answer #5 · answered by mommy102905 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because all of the nutrients are in the meal, not the dessert, and by eating the dessert first, you run the risk of being full and not wanting the dinner, thus missing the important parts of the meal.
2007-03-05 11:44:25 · answer #6 · answered by greecevaca 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Usually "dessert" means something sweet and not full of the vitamins and minerals kids need. Eating dessert first can risk the little one being full and not eating a healthy meal full of the nutrients they really need.
Although, for a little one, depending on old she is, you'll have to "kid-ify" the answer in simpler terms if you choose to tell her the health reasons. Good luck!
2007-03-05 11:50:51 · answer #7 · answered by Mommy of 2 Girls 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The whole "dinner before dessert" goes back to times before grocery stores. Mom's would constantly cook and prepare meals with great difficulty, so if their kid's appetite was spoiled because of dessert, they would become upset.
It also has roots in that dessert is a treat, and to get that treat, you must first eat you dinner. :)
2007-03-05 11:46:25 · answer #8 · answered by Charlie 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
dessert is a treat not a meal. dessert doesn't offer you the vitamins and nutrients your body needs, like the meal does. if you are eating all junk for dinner then go ahead and eat your dessert first. otherwise, if you eat all of your balanced dinner and you still have room you have earned a delicious sweet treat.
SD
2007-03-05 12:45:46 · answer #9 · answered by SD 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Generally the nutrition from dinner (meat, vegetables, etc.) is better than that from dessert (sugar, fat). If the child is going to get filled up and unable to finish the whole meal, better he/she should have gotten the good nutrition from dinner and had to skip the empty calories of dessert.
2007-03-05 11:45:08 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋