how many moms out there are guilty of this....?

Well, I plead not guilty..lol Most of the time it is 'You eat what I make'. It's only in the past year that my son has become picky about food and here in India, it's not really easy to make anything last minute...and we can't afford to order out all the time. Most of the time, I set the rule....but when my son has been good for a reasonable amount of days and then one day says he doesn't feel like having what I cooked, I get him what he needs....but I really don't encourage that on a daily basis. Sometimes, I ask him before I start cooking what he needs that day and if it is healthy and nutritious, I make what he asks me to. Each mother knows what is best for their child. Even though I believe starving one day is not going to harm him, as a mother, I know when it happens that I am worried and will try to get him to have something.

guilty as charged. as my hubby does all the cooking, we tell our daughters that we don't run a restaurant, but sometimes we all have different stuff to eat...but rarely...

I almost constantly do this, meaning make something different for my son. For the longest time I actually thought he was a "weird vegetarian" , except he doesn't like no fruits and vegetables. Even still today he eats mainly peanut butter, cheese and bread. Very limited in quality of diet, however I brought this up to his doctor several years ago..and of course they did test, but basically I was told that he's FINE..that when he is ready he will eat different food groups. And she was right..he's slowly starting to come around. And I am ok with this.

I have tried to set rules like this also but finally gave in because I did not want my daughter to sit there and have to eat something she really didn't want. She was stuck on eating chicken nuggets for years. That was all she ever wanted. I bought it for her almost every time because I did not want her to go hungry either. She had to eat something. I was always forced to eat everything on my plate when I was growing up whether I asked for it, liked it, or not. I don't want to raise my daughter like that.

I do make a special meal for my 5 year old son when he does not eat what I have made. I as a child was a fussy eater. But today I eat everything served on the plate. I feelmy son will do the same as he grows up. When we adults can have a mind of out own, why not a child?

Guilty as charged. i don't like to eat everything there is out there so why should expect my little one to like everything.

I have always given my son a say in what I cook. I just ask that he try something different occasionally. I figure, hey..I don't eat what I don't like, so why should I make him eat what he doesn't like! My mom would lose her mind if she were still here and knew that! LOL I blame my baby sitter. :)

Luckily my kids arent fussy really and I've ALWAYS had a firm rule that if i'm making something new EVERYONE (including my husband) HAS TO TRY IT WITH AN OPEN MIND...then if they dont care for it, fine go make yourself something...one thing I've always done that has also been a big help is asking the family what they'd like for dinner...Even when the kids were little..and if they came up with something insane (which was common back then LOL) I'd come up with a compromise for them...ALSO LOL I dont make things that ppl wont like...for example, liver and onions...you'll NEVER get served that in my house....Meatloaf? HELL NO! and so on... However there are TWO dishes that i do make seperate things for...My daughter and I LOVE tacos....but my husband and son dont like them...they prefer Manwhich (something my daughter and I cant stand) So on taco night I cook twice the meat, seperate it do tacos with half and manwich with the other half...its really not extra work so I dont mind....Also when it comes to fish and chips...my daughter CAN'T STAND fish so she'll have chicken patty and chips instead AND Perogies my son REFUSES to eat because of something that happened when he was little so on Perogie night I let him have something else..but he makes it himself.. Other than that though...NOPE and I NEVER did it when they were little kids...When they were little they ate whatever I cooked for them but like I said I dont make things that the family wont care for....I do allow compromise though LOL my girl for the longest time would NOT eat ANYTHING with ground beef in it...so if we were having spaghetti, she'd have plain pasta which she loves....if i made tacos, she'd have "veggie" tacos LOL If I made hamburgers, she'd have a chicken burger and so on...

Well, in our house we had a rule. If we never had it before, you had to eat it. If you didn't like it, you either went hungry or you fixed yourself something else to eat (and cleaned it up). If the majority of us didn't like it, I rarely if ever made it again, and if I did it was a "pot luck" night and they'd get something else (grilled cheese or something easy). For instance, I love liver, but I know most people don't. I fixed it for my kids, they ate it - all of it - and didn't like it. I only made that for me when they weren't home. When we'd order pizza, I don't like Dominoes, but both my kids did. We'd usually order Dominoes, and every once in a while I'd tell them it was MY turn for pizza and order something else. One thing you have to remember about creating habits with your children. If you always cook them something that they like instead of having them eat what is given them, they can make the assumption that everyone has to cater to them - in other respects than food. I took our rules in the house very seriously. If it's a rule, then it's a rule. If you choose to make exceptions once in a while, that's probably ok because that happens in the "real world" too. You just want to be careful of what you are actually teaching your children. My step-children were always catered to. If they didn't want to eat what they were served, they were fixed another meal. They're adults and pretty much still like that in that respect. My husband doesn't see anything wrong with it, but when his son comes over he has to eat what I cook. He's gotten used to it and knows it's ok to tell me he doesn't like it. But I wont let him say he doesn't like it if he's never tried it before. One day I will make him liver too, just to see!

I am so guilty of this. It drives my husband crazy though. He thinks what every I fix for dinner is good enough for the kids as well. So I am always fixing family friendly meals to try to get my kids to eat but it doesnt always work. So I will end up fixing them their favorite meal and he will just roll his eyes. He has given up on saying anything because he knows it wont do any good. But when their hungry and they dont want what I fix then I give in to them. But I am really trying to break that habit because it puts more work on me.

You're right, no one has the right to tell you how to raise your child or what is right or wrong with what you do for your child. But on saying that, if you don't want critism don't ask for it. You have asked for it by starting this discussion so here goes. I think you are spoiling your child by doing this. I think a child learns by the parents behavour. I think your child is taking advantage of your good nature and will continue to do so since you are allowing it now. If the child doesn't like the food you are serving, they need to learn that they either eat it or they don't eat anything. If they are hungry enough, they will eat it. You are setting him up to disappoint his wife one day and I don't think that is being fair to him or her. You asked for our opinion on this subject so don't get too upset when people give it. This is only my opinion.

My children know that my home is not Mcdonalds, I dont cook for everyone this is not takeout and I dont even want to do that. But luckily my children can make Microwave things if they dont like what I cook.

Well, I'm not sure if this completely qualifies, but, when my oldest was little, he didn't like chilli, so I would throw a package of hot dogs in the chilli, and when we sat down to eat, he ate hotdogs that were smothered in the sauce of the chilli. Other than that, no I never really made something special, unless they were sick and I would make them soup if we were having something spicy. But that was just because they were ill.

Well welcome to the world of Mother hood....! I was the mother that said you will eat what I fix you and no arguing about it, and she did. That is why today she ask my Grandson what he wants to eat.There are good and bad in the old ways the good is that she learned to love veggies and he does as well and the bad is when we said clean your plate....not always a good thing. When they are full they are full. the only thing wrong with fixing you child something and they don't like it and you fix something else is that you will stand there for hours trying to please them and they more than likely never tasted the first thing that you made ,,,,it is just that they can get you to do it....It is a kid thing.

I dont have to fix my son anything special. I am really lucky that he will eat just about anything put in front of him. He is definitely NOT fussy. I remember when he was little that instead of stealing candy at the grocery store, he would steal raw broccoli. A couple of nights ago we went out to a Chinese buffet and some of his choices included duck, mussels and shrimp in the shell. Who would have thought. After all he is only 11.

I have made my kids someting different for supper when I know they don't like what I am fixing I don't belevie in making a child eat something they don't like after all we as grown ups don't eat something if we don't like it so we should not force our kids to eat it. I do make them take one bite to see if they like it though as some things might look like they wouldn't like it but they are surprised when they take a bite.

depends on if my boy taste's the food or not. if he tried it & didnt like it then fair enuff but if he's being a little poo & flat out wont even try it then i give him nothing else until he at least try's it. and yes it makes me feel bad but im not letting him win the batle of wills.

I'm the type of mom who would ask my kid what she wants to eat.If she doesn't like the food I prepared, I'll fix another one for her. Maybe I had brought along my grandmother and my mom's example that you should prepare something a child could and would want to eat since foods is one of our basic needs. Sometimes my kid abuse this but I am not the one who'll tell her not to eat. I just tell her that those are allthe food we have right now and I knwo she liked it before so she decide whether to eat or not. One more thing, I don't know if it does work, never use not having their meals as punishment because a starving child is not only physically hungry but all areas of progress are also affected. (who can think sensibly when starving, right?)

I do it for sure, but we are not guilty of anything. My children will gag and puke with certain foods. They also have food allergies (all milk and milk by-products). So I don't think it's fair to force them to eat something they don't want given their already limited diet. Don't get me wrong, ice cream (soy) for breakfast is not allowed (usually! LOL), but I do let them pick their veggies and fruits. My son will not touch spinach, and will freak out if it's on his plate, so there's nothing wrong with green beans. My daughter loves garden veggie hommus, and is willing to try many foods. I don't think it's babying at all. As adults, we choose what is for dinner, and we wouldn't cook and eat something we hated. We are also offered menus when eating out. I pick my battles, and food usually isn't one of them.