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I babysit a lot of kids and when they don't want to eat I think it's pointless to force them to eat. If you're not hungry you're not hungry. All the parents seem to make the kids eat everything. What would you do if a child you were in charge of said they didn't want to eat?
| Not everything, just vegetables. | 17 | |
| No, children know when they are hungry. | 44 | |
| Yes, children need to eat everything on their plate. | 14 | |
| Other (Add a comment) | 7 | |
| No, but they must eat it later. | 24 |
No. When I was a kid I wasn't allowed to leave the table til I'd eaten my food and remember feeling like it was the worst thing in the world. Not the best feeling to associate with a type of food you already don't like. I think if the kid doesn't want to eat, they will do when they're hungry enough.
The 'everything on the plate' thing is arbitrary, it doesn't work and is practically force feeding. As long as they eat enough to fill them up, and get the nutrition they need then they're good.
The 'experts' argue that forcing a child to eat everything on the plate makes a child over eat and grow up into an adult who overeats.
I let my son eat the amount he wants, but if he eats very little - he can not have any snacks until, at least, most of the dinner is eaten.
It's healthy to have decent eating habits. Next thing you know they fill up on snack foods which aren't as healthy as a good meal.
I wish my parents had made me eat more as a child, now I'm too thin because I feel like I'm hungry when I'm not, and I avoid vegetables fairly often.
Only if for some reason they completely stopped eating with no reasonable cause. Like if they stopped eating for a week maybe you should be concerned.
If you force your children to eat broccoli as a kid, they are going to stop eating it when they become an adult. I was allowed to eat when I felt like it as a kid, and even though I didn't choose veggies unless they were specifically offered, now that I'm an adult I love salads, tofu, raw vegetables and other healthy foods.
No I would not make my child eat. However they would have to eat some time during the day. You should not force a child to eat if they are not hungry. overeating is never healthy. If you force a child to overeat they can gain too much weight and that is not healthy. Also oversleeping is shown to make people overweight as well. However I would not just let them eat candy and crap all day instead of food. Also my parents when I was a child would say "Only ask for what you will eat" which I think makes more sense than force feeding kids. We force feed ducks to expand the liver. I really don't think we should be doing it to kids. Its cruel when we do it to either. I also do not understand peoples logic of "My parents made me" and do you believe it was productive or helpful?
Yes. It is your responsibility to ensure they have proper nutrition.
Just because junior only wants dessert doesn't mean he gets to say "no!!!!" to everything else.
I'm a baby sitter too: I tell them to at least try everithing on their plate, so they try new food and eat their veggies.
no point in forcing them to eat if they are not hungry, I don't serve junck food and I never make dessert. ( I hate don't like sweet stuff makes me feel ill)
No point in making them overeat. I remember being forced to eat as a kid, and I just ended up feeling sick.
I think children do know when they're hungry. Don't force a kid to eat if they say they aren't hungry. If you do, they'll likely throw it back up. At least make sure they eat some of their meal though.
they HAVE to eat, but when a chil has eaten at least twelve good mouthfuls and afterwards say they are full... don't force them.
My younger cousin lives in a home where she's not forced to eat, so when we watch over her, she only wants to eat candy and sugary yogurt. We force her to eat her veggies, and that seems to help her overall health.
rewarding the behavior you want is a better idea. I make a balanced meal... if my child is not hungry.... then I put it in the fridge and they will eat it when they are (within reason). If they are fed at the normal times of the day they should be hungry @ meal times.