Do you make your child finish everything on their plate?

Question

Or do you let them stop when they are full even if their is still food on their plate?

Answer 1

When our kids were little we let them eat until they said they were full then we would ask how old are you? if they were 3 they needed to eat 3 bites more of whatever was left on their plate.  miracuously they weren't hungry 15 minutes after a meal.  the need to enforce this went away as they got older and their attention span got longer.  the few extra bites didn't make them obese and they are good healthy eaters now.  All 3 prefer fruits and veggies to junk food and are healthy athletic water drinking kids!

Answer 2

Absolutely not! That only encourages obesity and is the beginning of food issues. But if he says he's "full" and then 5 minutes later wants dessert with the rest of the family, that's different.

Answer 3

The only rules my little brothers and sisters have is if they say they aren't hungry and don't finish their meal at dinner time,  they are not to come back later before bed and say they are hungry and want more food.

Usually most parents aren't strict enough that they have to finish every little thing, but usually they don't get things like desert which is considered by most parents a bonus for finishing your meal.

Answer 4

Absolutly not. I let my kids eat till they are full. I would never force food on my kids. It teaches an unhealthy way of eating. It's a good thing for kids to recongize when they are full and know that that's the cue to stop eating. If they loose that ability to judge when they are full and to know that's when they stop then it can lead to childhood obesity.

Answer 5

I try to know their appetites & what foods they like & dislike and only give them enough food that they can and will eat.

If they are ill or I know they had snacks too close to a meal, I don't make them eat at all if they don't want to.  But, no more snacks until the next meal if they don't eat enough food & a variety of food from their plate to make a healthy meal.  

Answer 6

I do not make them finish everything. My family is rather "large sized" and I don't know to encourage my kids to eat and eat. When they are done, they may quit.

Answer 7

nope. If they say they are full then they should stop. Making them overeat leads to obesity and stops them listening to their body

Answer 8

This is a good question...

The answer (from me) is that I used to...until a doctor in the family said this is not a good idea. Instead, I believe it is best to encourage the child to try everything on their plate and set goals of eating reasonable amounts. I think it is just that we grew up learning to "finish the plate", but with the obesity rate so high, I think we all know this is not working....

Good luck!

Answer 9

I think as long as you haven't filled them up through the day on snacks, and they have reasonable portion sizes, then if they want dessert they need to BASICALLY (NOT scrape clean) eat everything on their plates. Even if there won't be dessert, I still try to encourage them to finish their meal, or at least eat until they're full...

And one rule of thumb-TRY at least a bite of each item offered.

Answer 10

No that leads to all sorts of issues with food later.  When my daughter says she is full I let her be done without a fuss.  

Answer 11

my mom  did that 2 me n it was actualy painfull and one day she did it n i threw up all over her by axadent i think its cruel  

Answer 12

I personally don't(most of the time).  But my husband does.  Our daughter's eating habits cause some of our biggest arguments.

Answer 13

I'm not a Mother but when I was younger, my Mother let me eat until I was full.

It didn't matter whether I had left half the food or eaten all of it.

Teaching me at a young age that meant that  I could listen to my own body....when I was hungry I ate and when I was full I stopped.

That's what I believe in.

Answer 14

Making children eat past when they are full can make them sick and can lead to obesity when they are older because they won't know when to stop...just teach them more about portions if they are wasting...my mom explained about children in africa and that we can always get more if we are still hungry and that fixed us...(my brother and i)

Answer 15

No, we don't.  The only rule we have about food during meals is before you say you don't like it, you have to try it first (it is amazing how many things my 6 yo daughter *hates* until she trys it, lol).  

Answer 16

great q.

i know if they are full we shouldn't make them eat it all.  that's bad.

Answer 17

I try to give my son appropriate-sized portions for his age and appetite.  I don't necessarily make him finish everything, but if it's a case of eating one thing on his plate while leaving something else (like his salad), that is a different story.  And he knows that if he claims that he's too full to finish his dinner, it means he's too full for dessert.

Answer 18

I let them stop eating when they are full they just understand if they are full that they won't be getting anything else (like desert) but to force a child to eat everything on their plate tells them to eat when they aren't hungry which sets them up for a future with obesity and overeating.  Even us as adults should stop eating when we are full.  

Answer 19

I give each child enough to fill them and i make sure that they eat everything on their plate before having a drink and getting down off the table. This stops them from harassing me later about still being hungry and wondering why...? If they are still hungry after this then i will give them extras! I started doing this after watching my then 3yr old stepson eating half a maccas meal we'd bought him on the way to dropping him at his mums place then running off and demanding his mum give him some sort of desert (when he didn't eat his meal in the first place) and she jumped right to it. It teaches the child discipline :)

Answer 20

I try to get them to eat everything or at least a little bit of everything on there plate. My kids tend to one or two items and ask for more with other items on their plate. Kids say they are full but say they want desert now.

Answer 21

when i was Little i never use to like to eat  i never use to finish me food and my parents would get mad so one day i dod not touch an thing on my plate and my father is very strict so he took me into the bath room and lashed me with an rubber rope and thretend me to eat my food  and he took me back to the table and trying to make me eat but i did not so he took me back into the bathroom and took the plate of food and put me into the tub andthreww the plate of food on me and left with out saying nothing and i had to come out of the bathroom and gooutt sideuntill 10 am by my self and they had tied my hands and feet up so i could not move. since then most of the time i ate everything off my plate and i was grounded for an mounth so i wasnt so thrilled.

Answer 22

usually just tell them like 5 or 3 more bites.

OR you could just make him/her understand they dont get dessert afterwards.