Whole Story

Try it, if you don't like it you don't have to eat it. Not everyone likes everything

We didn't have a whole lot of rules beyond chewing with your mouth closed and asking for things rather than reaching across the table. We were encouraged to try new foods (sometimes without being told what they were) before deciding if we liked them, which is how I ended up enjoying calamari, blue cheese, and liver and onions. Otherwise, we were pretty much allowed to eat the parts of the meal we liked and ignore the parts we didn't. My parents were pretty awesome that way. :)

My mom's rules: Eat everything on your plate - unless Dad was gone for dinner, then we just had to taste everything. Stay seated until everyone is finished eating - this one was the hardest! No dessert unless you ate all your veggies.

My grandfather always said "don't talk with your mouth half-full, fill it up!" This was his way of using humor to remind me to chew with my mouth closed. He had a great approach- no kid likes to be scolded at the table! I now say the same thing to my little girl!

Many of my rules are for the cook (me or my mom) which I figure will result in my kids learning how to prepare nutritious foods for themselves and their families in the future: The meal should be aethetically pleasing with many colors of food (the more colors, the more complete you vitamins and nutrients). At least three veggies at dinner and potatoes and corn are starches not veggies. -- my 5 year old has been known to say "where's the third veggie Grammy?". Although on pizza night, we relax the meal and cut back to two veggies (usually steamed broccoli and Greek salad) Salt must be kept to a minimum -- other spices are more interesting anyway. Of course, I've got kid rules too: You must try it before deciding you don't like it since I could have made it differently this time. A treat after finishing your dinner can be any one of a large number of fresh fruits. You don't 'hate' a food, but it can be something you don't prefer. After the one bite of the less preferred food, they can move on to their other food items, but only one less preferred food a night. You must have some protein at every meal.

My mother was Norwegian and we always had a starch and two vegetables with a broiled, boiled or steamed meat...usually fish. We NEVER had dessert, never had snacks, had to eat all our food -even liver and onions which I never ate and ended up falling alseep at the table several times over...had the same rules, which I feel are simple manners and show respect-no talking with your mouth full of food, no elbows on the table, don't start eating until the cook sits down or says it is okay to start, have to try everything...etc... I can't get enough candy and snacks...and have been that way since high scool-I used to hide candy bar under my mattress...and I have been everweight for years...defintly unhealthy... I majored in Dietetics, so I believe in good nutrition-but I never force my kids to eat anything they don't want, or to eat if they are not hungry...and if they prefer a cookie or ice cream to a fruit, no problem! They ask for apples and celery with ranch as well...a much healthier approach I feel...

I would just like to share that rules such as "you must finish everything on your plate" or "you must eat a certain amount of this" are NOT always appropriate eating habits to instill in kids. Telling kids they HAVE to eat something teaches them to ignore their own body's signs that they are full. This can lead to overeating once they become older. I like the person's comment who said if the kids can't finish it, they can save it for later. That's much better logic than guilting a kid just because he or she is full or isn't comfortable with a food.

Uh, Take a listen to Jimmy Deans Naration of "IOU". It is played mostly around Mothers day!

Only take want you will eat