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Clean Plate Club
The post below about desserts got me thinking, how many people make their kids clean their plates at meals? The comment about getting dessert if they finished dinner just got me thinking and wondering. Eating until your plate is clean vs eating until you are full is a huge issue with being obese (along with what you are eating but that is a whole different issue).
Jenni Mom to
DD#1 - 6-16-06
DD#2 - 3-13-08
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Re: Clean Plate Club
My dh grew up with a mother who was the same way and still is with my children. She was constantly force feeding ds when he was a baby. He has always been small and it bothers her. Dh "can't" leave things on his plate. It took a lot for to be okay with having leftovers when I cooked. He is will stop eating when he is full now, but I have to remind him and he is working on his portion sizes. He has been trying to lose weight for years.
I do not make my kids clean their plate. They have to try at least one bite of something before they say that they don't like it. They also do not get a "treat" or dessert unless they have had something healthy. I try to teach them that it is okay to have treats sometimes but our body needs healthy food more so that it will grow and be strong.
I do agree on the whole healthy portion part of what you said but walk into just about any restaurant these days and you will not be given a healthy portion, portion sizes are huge at a lot of places. Dinner plates have gotten bigger over the years. I'm not saying that everyone that cleans their plates at every meal is going to be obese but telling someone to always clean their plate can lead to issues. Kids are born knowing to stop when they are full but it goes away due to how we are taught.
The nest just ate my reply. argh!
I do a combo - I portion their meals to what they typically would eat. Our general rule is to try 3 bites. Ben clears his plate about 95% of the time, though. If he's at least tried the 3 bites, he can pick something good for him....fruit/yogurt/applesauce/bread to fill him up. Nat generally will eat what is served, but she's world's slowest eater. I also fall into ruts of fixing only things that I know they both like....H works during lunch/dinner times, so we only consider his likes/dislikes on the weekends, and it's just as easy for me to eat salad/wraps during the week.
I agree with this. I grew up where I had to clean my plate and I couldn't drink my juice or whatever until I had finished eating. The idea was that I would get full from the beverage and not the food. To this day I don't drink until I finish eating. I'm not sure how I feel about that although as I am typing this I find that I'm doing the same thing to DD about the drinks. I still can't tell about her portions since she is so young and I don't force feed her. Once she turns or tries to the plate over then I know she's done.
Dessert is very rare at home, or even at another home or out to eat. They are encouraged to eat until full, but on the rare occasion we are eating dessert, I'd rather they stop early enough that they save room for the treat, so they don't overeat. Again, it's so rare that I don't really care if they replace a few bites of their meal with dessert. I do the same thing for myself.
I never force them to finish a meal. I do require that they try everything, unless it's something they've given an honest chance in the past and just don't like it (this doesn't happen too often). Them finishing their food doesn't help the child in Africa who doesn't have enough food for their tummies. We all serve ourselves, and they are encouraged to only put a small amount on their plate at first. They can always get seconds.