My son will eat most things but will sometimes leave some of the vegetables he doesn't like. My husband will force him to eat these and often this will result in a battle of wills and a generally miserable time by all. I think my son should be able to refuse food he doesn't want as long as he has made a good effort with the rest of the dinner. What do you think?
2007-07-09 17:59:56 · 31 answers · asked by wd2crv 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
1) Never pick a fight you can't win
2) Never create negative feelings about eating
3) If he would let him go if he ate all of his veggies but not all of something else then he is just teaching him that veggies are "bad" and other foods are "good"
Of course when presented with a plate of food that we aren't going to eat all of we eat our favourite foods!
Put smaller portions on his plate and if he finishes them then he can have more. You might want to put more veggies on the first plate ;)
2007-07-09 18:06:36 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
Every kids should have at least two foods that they do not like and should not have to eat. Let him pick the ones he does not like and don't make him eat them. For everything else he should be expected to eat them so long the portion is not unreasonable. You know your kid and how much he can eat. A little push to eat foods he does not like will not hurt him. As for having to clean his plate I agree it is wrong. Sometimes I can not eat everything on my plate and a child should not either.
Tell him to eat the food he does not like first and then eat the good stuff to get it out the way. Another trick is to have him take a drink with every bit to help wash it down. Use to work for me.
Hope this help.
2007-07-09 18:40:08 · answer #2 · answered by boy blue 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No your child doesn't need to eat everything on his plate. If he eats a little bite of everything I would say you are doing really well! Just make sure there is something he likes at every meal. With my 2 year old daughter we put everything on her plate and the rule is she leaves it there if she doesn't want it. We vary what the dish is that she likes so she is eating a variety of foods. Some nights she eats more veggies or fruit, other nights she eats bread or meat. We have also noticed she is getting better at trying things if they are sitting on her plate. Your son knows how much to eat and you don't want to push more on him than he wants. Just make sure that all the choices are healthy ones and then let him choose what he eats!
2007-07-09 18:10:10 · answer #3 · answered by Megan 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My husband used to do the same thing, and it ruined many a meal, and was upsetting to everyone. I think it is a power play of sorts by some husbands. I DO NOT believe in forcing kids to eat things they don't like, as long as they try them first. I can still remember my brother, sitting at the table long after everyone left, his mouth full of food,and tears streaming down his face. It's so wrong!
2007-07-10 09:37:45 · answer #4 · answered by Geronimo5 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why would you force a child to eat something they truely don't like? That has never made sense to me both when I was a child and now as an adult. The foods I hated as a kid, I still hate them. That didn't change because I was forced to eat them. I understand nutrition and I say find something else nutritious that the child likes and feed that to them. As long as they are eating a balanced diet then what does it matter that they don't eat/like the cauliflower (my personal hatred).
2007-07-10 07:07:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
He will either eat it or not, we all have different taste buds, try putting the vegetables he doesn't like into things like soups, stews quiche and add gravy to plain vegetables He may be getting too much on his plate and isn't very hungry as well. My kids would drink fruit juice all day long and then not want to eat a big meal since drinking water they enjoy their dinners more. Give as little snacks as possible.
2007-07-09 18:05:24 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
i agree with you. as long as he has made an honest effort to clean his plate up then a few veggies left behind isn't going to kill any body. Not that this is going to happen, but a lot of over weight shows i have seen, the clients say they're fat because they were always told to have a clean plate at the end of meals, so they're used to eating everything instead of stopping at satisfied. just something to keep in mind.
Good luck
2007-07-09 18:06:43 · answer #7 · answered by Natalie's Mommy 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If I put it on the plate I never ask them to finish it. If they take it themselves and waste it I do not force them to eat it but I tell them to use a little more control next time when choosing.
I was forced as a child. It makes you hate meal time.
Now I do have a rule that if i make it they must try 1 teaspoon full if they dont like it thats ok, but they must try it. Most kids will say yuck without trying it. I know my son did.... I would make him taste it, then he loved it. I dont force them to eat but they must TRY.
2007-07-09 18:21:54 · answer #8 · answered by tammer 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No its not good to force them because you would only make him hate the vegetables more. This is what I tell my daughter when she doesn't wants to eat her veggies.If you don't eat them you will stay small and you wont go to school or we play a game for example lets see who finishes the vegetables first wins and gets a treat
2007-07-09 18:07:12 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Force them to eat? NO,
This is what we do, our children must eat whats on their plate before they get more of what they like. The key to making this work is super small portions of everything, then they can have more chicken, potato's... what ever they want more of.
If they are full, we don't force them to eat. However we don't allow lets say "ice cream" five min. after they just claimed they were full.
2007-07-09 20:24:20 · answer #10 · answered by olschoolmom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋