finish your plate mentality

Let them decide when they're finished, but put it aside for them to have later if they decide they're still hungry. A lot of kids will try to skip out on what's on their plate to get to the good stuff -- desserts, treats.

My mom used to make me clean my plate. If it wasn't clean by midnight, I got it for breakfast, lunch and dinner the next day until it was gone. I went to school with a bowl of oatmeal dumped on my head one day because I didn't want to finish it. I've only in the last few years gotten past the feeling that I need to clean my plate, and I still struggle with it from time to time, but mostly I'm past it. For that reason, I never made my kids clean their plate, or eat something they didn't want, and neither has a weight problem. I actually envy them for being able to have cookies in the house and not demolish them within 24 hours.

I've always finished my plate (unless the food is gross) and I've never been overweight. I think this is because I don't put a crap ton of food on my plate to begin with and I eat very slowly. If, at the end, I'm still hungry, then I go get seconds. If not, I'm done. I generally cook with reasonable serving sizes in mind. We almost never have leftovers or wasted food. I think that whether or not you "clean your plate" should depend on how large a serving you have on it. :drinker:

I was just coming here to see if there were any topics on this!

I was raised to clean my plate and still do. We kids weren't allowed up from the table until we did. There weren't starving kids in China. We were told how hard our dad worked to earn money for our food and that we were wasting it by not eating what was given. I still eat past fullness. Even until I'm in pain at a restaurant, even though I know I can take home the leftovers for the next day. It doesn't matter if it's not on my plate either. If there's a little bit left in the pan that nobody will eat, but not enough to save, I eat it. I get this feeling that I'm a failure and I'm wasting money if I don't.

I don't make my kids clean their plates. I give my kids very small portions and they have to eat all of that if they want a second helping of anything. It's more of an "if you're too full for your asparagus then you're too full for another roll or dessert" thing. I try not to lecture them about wasting money when it comes to food, unless it's to tell them to order a small portion of something when we're out and ask for more if they're still hungry so it doesn't go to waste. (usually they aren't as hungry as they thought)

We tailor portions to the kid and the food being served. If it's not their favorite entree, we'll slip an extra scoop of veggies but err on the side of you can have more if you're still hungry. My oldest would eat his own foot if I served it on his plate, so we have to have him scale back on his seconds because his eyes are bigger than his stomach. He's a beanpole, so weight isn't an issue, more that he doesn't see seconds as another full meal and can't finish it.

Me and my husband go back and forth on this so much. We were both raised in 'finish your plate' households, and he would like for our sons to be raised the same way. I disagree as if they kids is full why should they be forced to eat all their food. The other problem we struggle with is that my husband dishes the food for the boys. He gives them adult portion sizes, and does not understand that they need such a smaller amount then we do. I am trying to drill into his head that forcing the kids to eat is teaching them unhealthly eating practices. We stop eating when we are full and they should be allowed to do the same. Our ways of combating this also includes letting them dish up their own food. They have to take a little bit of everything, and if they go back for seconds they also have to have second small serving of vegetables. If they do not finish their plate, it goes in the fridge and when they get hunger they have to finish it. At bedtime, we usually have a snack as a family of either popcorn or icecream with fresh fruit.

We do child size portions for the little kids (which is anywhere from a tablespoon to a third of a cup depending on the age of the kid) and then our rule is, if you want seconds on favorites, you finish what's on your plate or if we have a dessert (once or twice a month we might have a treat for a family night) you must finish your dinner. This puts portion controls automatically on breads and meats, and with several children that would eat nothing but, it's really encouraged them to try other foods out.

However, we leave it up the kids. The only exception is vegetables. We allow kids to freely eat as many veggies as they want during meals.

I was brought up not only to have to finish my plate but that if I did I could have desert as a reward. Here I am a zillion years later and still struggle with forgetting to eat just until I am full. We always use small plates for our meals and measure and weigh portions....but guess what, I still forget almost daily to stop when I have had enough. One trick that should help adults that have this problem is to eat slower. It takes a minimum of 20 minutes for your brain to get the message that you are full. Quite often when I am finished dinner, I am still hungry. I leave the table and stop eating but; within 30 minutes after eating I feel stuffed. This is a hard habit to break so my advice is serve your kiddies small portions and as long as they take a bite or two of everything, let them off the hook. By serving them smaller portions, you won't waste so much food and they can always ask for seconds. For heaven's sake...do not offer them desert as the reward for eating or good behavior.