Do you eat up everything on your plate?

I always finish food in my plate but we did feed all the birds in the locality every morning or the crows would be singing their growling tunes at 7 everyday if they do not find their platter full. My mum used to ask us to polish of the food always but never came out with such wonderful fairytales and it was actually what my grandma said made more sense to me about finishing everybit. She would often let me give the food to the beggar who would come for alms everyday to her doorstep, and she told me how lucky I was to get my food on my plate where as there were several kids like me who had to be in the mercy of the person who gave food and that how I would get the choicest of foods which many can never even dream about. This insight to how the other half of the world lived made me stick to polishing off food from my plate, if I am unable to complete it I stuff my plate into my refrigerator and have it later after I manage to make some space in my tummy. Thanks for the discussion Wizard

My mom and dad didn't give me the same story that your parents gave you. They used to try to make me feel guilty by telling me about all the kids that were starving in the world who would be incredibly grateful to just have a few bites of what I was eating. Our plates always had to be clean. Now as an adult, I try to only serve myself what I feel I will eat when I sit down. I figure I can always take a little more if I'm still hungry and that's what I teach my daughter. I definately do not condone the wasting of food.

My mum used to tell me that I wouldn't get any pudding/dessert if I didn't eat up all my dinner! It always depending on what dessert it was, if it was blancmange or vanilla ice cream I was crafty and as a child saw there was no incentive in eating my dinner, if it contained chocolate for dessert then I would force myself to eat what I had on the plate, mum naturally cottoned on as mums do and wouldn't tell me what dessert was until I finished my dinner, d'oh!

Yes, I clean my plate, but like you, that was the way I was taught. I do not expect my children to eat everything. They are, however, expected to try a noticible bite of everything and tell me why or why not they like the food. (my son is a very picky eater.) Interesting theory your mother had about eating rice. My grandmother always told me to eat the crusts of my bread if I wanted curly hair. Must have worked, as I have very curly hair!! :)

Yes, we finish it all. But, (and I hope this does not offend) mother always said "You finish that food, don't you know there are starving people in China" at the time I did not understand how my eating my food would help those without in China...but I now know that is was about appreciating what blessings we have received. I make my children eat what they are served, admonishing them that we just asked for God's Blessings, how dare they then reject them. Now, if I know they do not particularly care for a food I do not serve them much of it...maybe even just a teaspoon. And it has happened from time to time that they began to like a food they used to despise. I also do not serve them any food that makes them physically ill. I think their being accustomed to eating everything will also help them during times of famine or hardships... they will eat what is available to them for survival.

i always finish my plate no matter how much is on it, and not because i am scared of getting spots, but because i am always hungry, i never get full up, and if i do get full up i am hungry again within half an hour and want my next meal.

I was also made to eat everything and as an overweight adult it's maybe not the best thing in hindsight, lol. I ask my kids to have a little of everything and give the left-overs to the dog - although pudding or treats later is dependant on having eaten most of the main course. Crusts make your hair curl. Carrots help you see Fish makes you brainy Spinich makes you strong like Popeye the Sailor man etc. There was a reason for everything closely followed by waste not want not. Left overs were given at the next meal. I remember sitting until tea-time with unwanted food adn being told if you took a forkful of each thing in turn then you wouldn't be sat with a plate of brussel sprouts now. The strange thing is we were probably healthier for being force fed things we disliked and learned to tolerate rather than enjoy so we still buy them now. People didn't seem to be as fat as they are today when we allow ourselves to fill up on treats. I try to leave some for the fairies and can even leave some in the kitchen when serving food out - usually the pets get the best of the leftovers and the rest goes in the freezer towards a pie.

No, my mum would never talk about something like pimples. She used to tell us that the starving children would be glad to have what food we left on our plates and I used to tell her to send it to them. I don't have a problem now with left over food now. I only have to cook for two and I always cook just the necessary amount as I don't like to waste food.

yes i try to eat every thing in my plate but some time i don't do this.

When I was growing up, my mom would request that I at least try something new that she put on my plate. If I didn't like it, she did not force me to eat it. I wasn't much of a picky eater though. I mostly had a habit of keeping my food separated, lol. I hated mixing my food up. This however taught me to gauge my portions, so I rarely had extra food on the plate. It has also kept my weight fluctuation at only 3 lbs.

Well i think you mum was training you to eat up all your food to be healthy thats all. I serve myself food so i take what i know i can conveniently finish. if its too mcuh or i don't feel like eating, i'm not under any obligation to finish it. besides, there are some people who take pleasure in leaving some food on their plate even when they're not satisfied just to make a show!

Ah, the the things parents will say to get their kids to behave the way they want! I haven't heard about grains of rice, and pimples on your wife's face before-- my mother was always on about "the straving children in Biafra." And, like you, I was always told I needed to finish everything on my plate. There was ONE mitigating factor, however, which was that if we were out to dinner at other people's house and the plate was served to me with food on it, I was not responsible for eating everything... because neither mom & dad, nor I, had "chosen" how much food to put on the plate. I didn't really take the "kids in Biafra" thing too much to heart... and eventually got around to the smartalecky comment of "Well, SEND it to them!" Which, of course, earned me a trip to my room without dinner. There was always a bit of a "family struggle" between my parents (founding members of the "Clean Plate Club") and my elderly aunt who helped raise me, a lot of the time. My aunt was a lot less strict about rules, and believed children learned more about life by being taught how to find their own limits. It could be that she was right... I never had much of a problem with "eating up" when I was at her house-- and when something was left over, I was always allowed to put it in a container in the fridge and save it for tomorrow.

Well yes and no. I try to put the amount of food that I am able to eat on my plate. So my plate is usually clean by the time I finish eating. But sometimes I get carried away (especially if the menu's good) and put more than what I could eat. In this cases, when I feel that I'm already full, I just stop eating for a while then resume eating when I feel that my stomach is up to the challenge again until there is no more food on my plate. However, when I really can't manage to finish off my food I give it to my mom or dad and they finish it off for me. My parents can't stand food going to waste so they eat whatever is left on my plate rather than let it go to waste. LOL!

I take little amount of food first.If I like it then I take more and if i don't,then I finish up whatever is on my plate and do not refill it. We were told during chilhood that if we waste food then many hungry tummy's of poor people won't get food. That used to do the trick and we used to eat up everything that was served to us in our plate.

Yes, my parents always told us that if we didn't finish our dinner, we would get no dessert... and they stuck to it!!! So, I finished up everything on my plate. They also had some weird sayings like, "eat your cabbage, it will make your hair curl", "eat your carrots or you won't be able to see in the dark", and "eat your crusts because they'll strengthen your teeth". Of course, we all know now that they were old wives' tales to get you to eat all your food, but in those days, we ate up and put up. Nowadays, I only put on my plate what I want, and therefore never leave anything, except maybe for the occasional grain or two of rice which I can't pick up! :-) Wellllllll, it falls through the fork! ha ha ha Brightest Blessings my friend.

I was never told any type of "old wives tales" about cleaning my plate. As a child I was never made to eat everything either. As long as we ate our share of each food type offered we were okay by mom's standards. To this day I always leave some food on my plate. Even if I'm still hungry I'll get seconds just to leave a little behind. I don't know if it's for those faieries or not. But they don't go in the fridge in my house. I am also the type that DOES not eat leftovers at all. Thanks for the discussion also. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

take all you want and eat all you take...this is me!!! i only take food that i know i can eat because if i am still hungry after the first plate, i know that i can get more. i didn't really like left overs as much as eating the left over food so i will make it sure that there are no food got wasted. my parents owned an eatery/ carenderia [ restaurant] so they do not have any problem feeding me when i was a kid,oppsss other than sometimes i will never feel hungry and don't want to eat anything...hehe never heard those stories your mom usud to tell you when you were a kid but you know what? she did a really good job... i might used that to my little girl!!!

i like the way you have started the discussion,you opened my eyes from now onwards i'll make sure that my wife don't have pimples when i get married,i wonder what your mother will tell to girls........jst kiddin man,well from my childhood i have had the habbit of not leavin anyhin on my plate,exceptions are there sometimes when i don't like the food or when i have had enough,then i leave somethin on plate to be thrown in th dustbin,else i know and i have seen people how difficult it is to earn bread and butter so i don't leave anythin on my plate!!!!!!!1

hey listen what i do .... i come from school very hungry i can eat 2 or 3 plats on one time dont ask me how but i eat all in plat and want more. u think i'm very big and high weight and thats wrong u can say i'm thin and my whiegh 65kg :)

I am 25 but I have the habit of licking my plate and make it totally clean while eating.. If I am in some public place or in presence of some other persons .. then I have to behave like a decent girl.. and sometimes when I just can't control then I will go to the kitchen .. close the door and start licking my plate.. My family calls me dog, cat and many other names.. but I simply love doing it.. Sometimes I used to get the comment -- now there is no need to wash the dish .. it's so clean.. Lolz .. I don't think it's a bad habit .. I am totally involved in this habit. My mom never told me to lick the plate .. but I don't know why I used to do this