Are we too soft with our children/grandchildren?

[gavroche]

I am a granddad and every time I eat in the company of my grandchildren I hear their parents say :" What would you like to eat?" That way, they end up making each one a different meal and most of the time, the kids leave most of it on the plate.
Now, I may be old fashioned but it takes me back to when I was a kid and we were never asked what we wanted to eat. We all ate the same thing ( only one lot of cooking for my mother) and never argued about it. We were also trained to eat it all as there was nothing else.
I must admit I don't like the way parents bend backward to their children nowadays and have to bite my tongue many a time when I see what I see.
It annoys me to see so much good food wasted and thrown away.
Am I right in thinking that today's parents are too soft with their kids?

 

[DCLane]

It depends on the parents; we make one meal and if they don't eat it, then they go hungry.

The cooking/menu does take into account some of their likes/dislikes, but not all.

 

[hobbitonabike]

One meal here and if they would like pudding they eat all on their plate first. I insist on good manners and try to teach them to be independant. If they want a drink they can get one. I do not wait on them hand and foot. I was pandered to as a child and it did me no favours at all.

 

[lukesdad]

Yep my kids have what they like, as do I .

 

[gavroche]

By the way, I also forgot to mention "eating with your plate on your knees in front of the TV". That also annoys me greatly. What is a table for then?
That's it, enough of the grumpy old man ( even if I am right in what I am saying as I believe in manners in all aspects)

 

[Scoosh]

I've 'Liked' some posts here - but have to confess, I lost this battle many, many years ago ... .. gave up the fight ... and still get very 'frustrated' with our student-age children, though

 

[lukesdad]

What is a table for ? To put your bike on of course !
Im not sure about the second part tho '

 

[derrick]

By the way, I also forgot to mention "eating with your plate on your knees in front of the TV". That also annoys me greatly. What is a table for then?
That's it, enough of the grumpy old man ( even if I am right in what I am saying as I believe in manners in all aspects)

Part one
Part two

 

[Kies]

I've 'Liked' some posts here - but have to confess, I lost this battle many, many years ago ... .. gave up the fight ... and still get very 'frustrated' with our student-age children, though

I agree with all that has been said,but also lost the battle some years ago. My wife indulged my son with choices and now complains about cooking multiple dinners!!!!!
The dining table gets used by us,but the children would need a Garmin to find it. I hate the way they watch TV,balance a plate on their knees and text at mealtime.
I end up shouting at them,but they tuned me out like yesteryears no 1

 

[Profpointy]

welllll..... I was a very fussy eater, and to be honest, might have starved if not "indulged" to some degree - basically I lived off bread and honey, but wouldn't eat much else. Never did me any harm !

Mind you, I'll eat almost anything now, and if abroad (say), will tend to choose whatever I can't translate just in the interest of science so to speak

 

[gavroche]

I think most people of my generation would agree with me ( born in 1950) and the younger generations would probably be divided on this subject as their way of thinking is likely to be different.

 

[Matthew_T]

As a family we discuss what we have to eat. We all usually have the same unless my parents are having something different. We plan the week ahead with purchases and always eat together as a family.
We always sit around the dining table unless we are having pizza or party food then we eat in the living room.

We have quite a healthy and broad range of food that we eat. We always have full meals and on the odd occasion take-away (probably once a month). Just like every family, money is tight so we always go for meal deals and "feed 4 for £10" type things.

As an example of how well we eat, here is a run down of what we had last week:
Mon - Breaded fish with salad.
Tue - Salmon with salad.
Wed - Quiche with salad.
Thur - Indian (from shop).
Fri - Shepherds pie with veg.
Sat - Pizza (from shop).
Sun - Homemade chicken and mushroom pie with veg.

And today we are having a roast pork joint.

Quite filling and varied meals if I do say so myself.

 

[fossyant]

The kids eat what we do. One is fussy about cheese, and the other won't eat lasagne despite being a pasta fan.

Other than that they are good eaters, and will eat a variety of food.

My mates lad is incredibly fussy, and they have only just got him on basics like fish fingers and chicken nuggets, despite being 6. He just has sandwiches and jelly. We were out with them yesterday, and they had to give him sandwiches, whilst my two chose and ate at the table. The lad kicked up a fuss when my two had to come back from the playground to eat.

My folks and my missus folks didn't allow us to be that fussy as kids, so we haven't pandered to the kids, we've tried them on real food from small, just mash it up.

 

[snorri]

. We all usually have the same unless my parents are having something different.

 

[Crackle]

Please sir. May I have some more.....

Times change, move on.