Elbows on the table

[DanaC]

My dad used to try that 'eat everything on your plate' bollox. Hateful. Just led to major rows and tears. Poor Dad. He eventually gave up on that kind of nonsense. I remember one major row over a plate of curry. He actually tried the 'starving children in Africa would be grateful for the food' tactic. I said, in all seriousness "well, then send it to them."

Mum's tactics were different. She'd say well, just eat half. Then when I'd eaten half she'd say....oh come on just one more bite. Eventually we'd have reached a compromise position of throwing some away but not all:P If I really, really, stuck to my guns then she'd know I absolutely was not hungry, or really hated the taste. The food would be thrown away, no problem, but there would be no crisps or biscuits later. If I was very hungry later, I'd get a sandwich and a lecture on not leaving food.

Mum's attitude was, why make food into a major issue? Why not trust us to decide how hungry we were?

My brother and his wife have a similarly relaxed attitude to food with the girls. Amelia went through a brief phase of being awkward but she soon got over that. Both of them have a very sensible approach to nutrition. Amelia decided at age 9 that she wanted to be a vegetarian and has stuck to it ever since (she's now 14). Both of them enjoy fast food and sweets but not to excess. They both will generally try whatever you give them but will not be pushed into eating something they don't want.