Why you should not FORCE your children to eat their vegetables.
By kbkbooks
@kbkbooks (7022)
Canada
December 4, 2006 5:38pm CST
I pride myself on having raised very good eaters. They are not generally picky about food and they even eat their vegetables. When I first started to learn about feeding little ones, however, I had a terrible experience that taught me a lesson I will never forget.
Timmy would not eat his brussel sprouts. He was a guest in our home, and I was babysitting. I fixed a great meal of hamburger patties, potatoes with gravy and brussel sprouts.
Timmy insisted he didn't like brussel sprouts even though he said he had never had them before. I ate mine as he watched and I savoured every bite. I happen to love them. I carefully cut his up into small pieces with butter and salt to season them nicely.
This was where I learned my lesson. Against all his protests I finally got Timmy to eat a tiny bite of his brussel sprouts. The six year old looked rather pained, and then he began to gag and ran from the table, making it to the john just in time.
I never have forced my own kids to eat any food they INSISTED they didn't like. I learned my lesson!
2 responses
@jewel76 (2305)
• Canada
5 Dec 06
I totally agree with this; you should not force the kids to eat things they don't like, even though it's good for them. I'd make my kids at least try a little bite, and if they don't like it, i'll never serve it to them again. But it's hard to say they don't like something until they've tried it.
1 person likes this
@patgalca (18180)
• Orangeville, Ontario
4 Dec 06
I had a babysitter force me to eat creamed corn. It came back out into my milk glass. I will never forget it. I don't know how people can stand it. Mushy peas fall in the same category. Gross!
My kids eat their vegetables, but my vegetables are limited to broccoli, cauliflower, corn, squash, green beans and carrots. Sometimes there is salad but my husband was raised as a meat and potato man and dislikes most vegetables. He always leaves at least one bean on his plate "to be polite", he says. Huh?
I don't care for brussel sprouts, though I have to admit I have never tried them. Rachel Ray made some on her show a couple of weeks back and supposedly they were delicious - covered in balsamic vinegar and maple syrup I think. I would have tried those!
