Growing up it was my older sister, my parents, and me. My mom cooked and we ate, it was that simple. If she cooked something and we didn’t like it we had two options; not eat or make something else and then clean up afterward. Most times we ate whatever she cooked because it was easier and the few things she made that we didn’t like weren’t made on a regular basis so everyone was content.
When I first had my daughter, I always made her try a bite, and if she didn’t like it that was fine but she had to try at least one bite. When she was old enough, she had to say “No Thank You”. She’s 4 now and eats mostly anything: sushi, pad thai, Rueben sandwiches, corned beef, whatever it is, she eats it. I think it’s because when she was little we didn’t make baby food per se, I’d feed her whatever we were eating and cut it in smaller pieces. One of my husbands favorite stories to share with people is, I had made Chicken Enchilada’s and I left them on a plate on the counter close to her high chair and when I walked out of the room to grab something and when I came in she had eaten my enchiladas that had a bit of spice to them.
With my son we did the same thing, he has to try a single bite of food (which he normally devours) but this was the best thing for our family. The kids understand they need to try a bite and if they like it, success! And if they don’t, they have to say “No Thank You”. We do this at restaurants when we take them out, I normally order one meal they like and then something new since I can’t get up and cook something new.
We keep this rule up when we go to friends houses and I always bring something in case they don’t like it, I don’t do this because I want to be rude to the hostess, but because I need my kids to eat and any rule I have at home is carried over when we aren’t at home. I also let our friends know I will
be bringing a backup snack because it’s easier than having a full on meltdown.
The “No Thank You” bite has been a lifesaver and when I told my friend about it, she asked how it worked for us and said her sister-in-law uses the same technique and how well it worked for her kids. My husband teases me and says I do it because he was such a picky eater growing up that he wishes his parents had done something similar but I think it’s also fun and have been trying to take my own advice – when we go out to eat I try to order something different in hopes of falling in love with a new food or food combination.
“No Thank You” bites are good for any age.
