Food battles. I never thought I would have them. My first child was an easy eater and I thought I must be doing it right. She loved everything I put in front of her and we have videos of her asking for more veggies right around the time most kids get picky. She would eat taco soup with extra butternut squash and spinach added in and I could put absolutely anything in her home-made tortilla and she would gobble it up. I didn't understand when other moms talked about food battles they had with heir children. But then I had my second child. She had major texture issues and then had to go dairy and gluten free for a while. It wasn't pretty. My first easy child took a clue from my picky eater and found her voice. And then adding in a third very strong-willed child only made dinner time that much more exciting. My husband had a crazy schedule for a while which meant that we didn't really have a family dinner time and I suddenly found myself with 3 adorable demanding little girls who had horrible table manners. Something had to be done so I came up with these 6 rules and they have helped tremendously. They aren't perfect rules for every family, but they have worked for us and I thought they might be helpful to others:
1. Wait until we pray to eat.
2. Before beginning, say "Thank you for the meal; the _______ looks delicious."
3. NEVER say, "I don't like..." Just quietly leave it on the plate.
4. Try a bite of everything; pick at least one thing to eat completely.
5. Do not ask for a treat unless you eat all your meat.
6. When finished, say, "Thank you for a good meal; may I please be excused?"
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