clean plate club
By perrygunight
@perrygunight (555)
United States
February 27, 2007 12:18pm CST
Do you tell your kids to eat everything on their plates? I grew up hearing about all the starving children, and although I never could figure out how eating all my food would help them, I still do. Some of my kids' friends leave a lot of food on their plates when they're here. I tell mine not to do that, and our refrigerator is full of half-finished meals. (My kids', not their friends') It does make weekend lunches easy to prepare.
1 person likes this
4 responses
@coalasice (87)
• United States
27 Feb 07
My Great-Grandmother used to put whatever you didn't finish for dinner in the fridge, and heat it up the next night. You had it every night for dinner until it was finished, lol.
It was effective I suppose, because my Grandpa always cleaned his plate!
I remember always having to dump out my leftovers when he wasn't looking! :x
@perrygunight (555)
• United States
27 Feb 07
Sometimes leftovers can be revived with a bit of grated cheese on top. The power of cheese, yeah.
@googie_egg (10)
•
27 Feb 07
Same goes for bubble and squeak. Nearly anything can be added and you dress it up to look interesting. Kids think its a different food. Unfortunately they can still find the sprouts hidden in there!
@Italianprincess1976 (263)
• United States
27 Feb 07
I was talking to a friend about this same subject the other day. We both came to the thought that maybe our parents having the clean plate moto with us may have something to do with us now being overweight. Because I still have it in my mind if you put it on your plate you'd better eat it all. Even when I know I'm full. So when it's time for dinner here I give my kids small helpings of everything, and if they finish them then they can have more. That way I'm not giving them to much from the start. But my one child would live on bread and pasta if you let her. So she has to at least eat some of everything before she gets seconds of anything.
@imadriscoll (2228)
• United States
27 Feb 07
I'm not real sure how old you are, but I think there are many factors that lead to this philosphy of cleaning your plate. My grandparents lived through the depression and they never had to be told to clear their plates, because there wasn't much on it. When my mom was growing up there were six kids in her family and not a lot to go around. So, she too, always cleared her plate, because snacks were nearly non-existant. She made my sister and I clear our plates, because that's what you do!
I'm trying to fit this into my life with my children now. Where do you find the balance between the child who's not eating because they're not hungry and the child who's not eating because they're holding out for chocolate cake? I have a good friend who never used to make her child eat his supper at our house or her's. He would get down from the table and within a half hour throw a fit because he was hungry and wanted a snack. She would give into him. At our house the rule is if you don't finish your supper you don't get a snack. If you don't like what's made for supper, too bad, because mom only makes one supper.
@perrygunight (555)
• United States
27 Feb 07
The holding out for chocolate cake wouldn't work in my house. It would mean holding out until the next birthday, and that could be almost a 7-month wait.
My mother used to say we had 2 choices: eat what she made or go hungry.
I worry about parents who let their kids control them as your friend may be doing. This goes deeper than the food issue.
@Modestah (11179)
• United States
27 Feb 07
my parents did use that tactic on us as well. We do strongly encourage the children to finish what is served them, so long as it does not make them physically ill. The reason being; they have only moments prior asked God to Bless themselves and their food, we do not take frivolously our requests to God nor His blessings. However, if it is a new food or one that I am sure they do not particularly care for I do not serve them much of it. It has happened on occasion that a food they used to dislike very much has become one that they do like. Tastebuds change I tell them :)
@perrygunight (555)
• United States
27 Feb 07
It is interesting to see how tastebuds change, especially when adult siblings dine together. Some haven't changed at all, and some seem to have reversed.
@tinam13 (839)
• United States
27 Feb 07
i dont have kids,im still a kid lol. i used to get told that when i was younger, thats a good way to teach them to eat all their food SOMEHOW lol.
