Author Topic: Christmas dinner  (Read 6145 times)

Christmas dinner
« on: 26 December, 2019, 04:47:16 pm »
So granddaughter(8) eats one third of a normal child's portion Christmas Dinner. Feigns feelings sick and full up. My son in law tells her"well done".
Five minutes later she's tucking into a huge slab of chocolate yule log.
Any comment from me is considered to be unkind. I was brought up to eat my dinner otherwise no sweet. Am I wrong?

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #1 on: 26 December, 2019, 04:49:15 pm »
Not enough information to judge, so best not to.

barakta

  • Bastard lovechild of Yomiko Readman and Johnny 5
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #2 on: 26 December, 2019, 04:50:55 pm »
The easiest way to manage other people's children if you aren't in charge of them at that time is to keep well out. It'll only piss people off.

It's up to a child's caregivers to go through that whole navigating "you don't have special hunger just for the treat-food" which takes FOREVER to embed through the whining. and unlike us, the children have MOAR junkfood marketed at them than ever.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #3 on: 26 December, 2019, 05:54:15 pm »
'My savoury stomach is full but there's room in my sweet stomach'...

Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #4 on: 26 December, 2019, 06:48:03 pm »
Thanks for the replies. I'll but out. Just want the best for granddaughter. I believe these things re discipline have wider implications.
Thanks again

Kim

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    • Fediverse
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #5 on: 26 December, 2019, 07:00:36 pm »
Thanks for the replies. I'll but out. Just want the best for granddaughter. I believe these things re discipline have wider implications.

In which case, find a less stressful time to raise your legitimate concerns.

We've no idea if it's bad parenting, a difficult child, food issues, a special agreement that - in the interests of a harmonious Christmas - she doesn't have to eat $grandparent's nasty food, or something else.

I can say that "you'll eat what's put in front of you" can do far more harm than good, be it to the people like me who go on to develop eating disorders in the quest for bodily autonomy, or the stereotypical baby boomers who are incapable of not clearing their plate, calories be damned.

Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #6 on: 26 December, 2019, 07:59:30 pm »
It's not your problem, Andy. Your own kids were your problem. These are not your kids. So dont make it your problem.

FWIW my kids arent allowed pudding if dinner not eaten. Special allowances can be made at Christmas (eg. they seem to have had biscuits for dinner tonight)

FifeingEejit

  • Not Small
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #7 on: 26 December, 2019, 08:18:15 pm »
I was brought up to eat my dinner otherwise no sweet. Am I wrong?

There's something to be said against forcing the consumption of portions that seem to be inappropriate at the time of eating.
(Questions like, do the "starving children in ethiopia have a bearing on current day obesity rates")

'My savoury stomach is full but there's room in my sweet stomach'...

And something to be said for that; there's always room for pudding.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #8 on: 26 December, 2019, 09:29:47 pm »
Many kids don't like vegetables. I think younger kids may be more sensitive to the the bitter taste of sprouts and might instinctively avoid bloaty, low-calorie foods.

As others have posted, they're not your kids and it's not your problem.

I think we all need to be more tolerant at Christmas, when adults often break their year-round rules.

Kim

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    • Fediverse
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #9 on: 26 December, 2019, 09:41:28 pm »
Many kids don't like vegetables. I think younger kids may be more sensitive to the the bitter taste of sprouts and might instinctively avoid bloaty, low-calorie foods.

Ob-xkcd:


PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #10 on: 26 December, 2019, 10:29:35 pm »
My parents once forced me to eat sprouts; my forceful expulsion of them and the rest of my lunch convinced them of the error of their ways.

Now having a son with a limited dietary range I don’t know how to get him to be more adventurous in his tastes; what I do know is forcing is not the right way.

barakta

  • Bastard lovechild of Yomiko Readman and Johnny 5
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #11 on: 27 December, 2019, 01:44:09 pm »
If restricted food is very difficult, a dietician who specialises in children can be very helpful. A friend whose child whose eating was very restricted got good advice and support from a dietician who suggested lower stress ways to introduce new foods which helped quite a bit.

My grandfather, born in Glasgow in 1920 didn't eat vegetables. He could tolerate them in soup, but otherwise flicked them off his plate and wouldn't have many of them cooked in the house... "Picky eating" is not a new thing...

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #12 on: 27 December, 2019, 02:19:02 pm »
Coming from a background where Christmas is not celebrated, I might have got this wrong. Please forgive if I have.

I thought the spirit of Christmas was celebration and enjoyment.

IMHO a family meal should be ENJOYED.

The foods eaten should be enjoyed by the eater. Yule log sounds like fun; so be it. (I don't think I've ever had one!!!)

Food tantrums are for toddlers, family arguments are for adults (and I see lots of evidence of family tensions exploding this time of year!)

Let your grandCHILD enjoy the magic of Christmas as a child. That magic is very short-lived.

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #13 on: 27 December, 2019, 02:22:35 pm »
Why blame it on the sprouts? A 'traditional' Christmas dinner can have plenty of other horrible foods.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #14 on: 27 December, 2019, 02:40:55 pm »
As partner and I don't have any other company on Christmas Day, it is my 'rule' only to provide food we both like.
I miss the cheese!

I did not enjoy parsnips as a kid; I like them now...

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #15 on: 27 December, 2019, 03:25:16 pm »
Yule log if you want to...

IGMC - yes, the large red one with white fur trimmings around the hood.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: Christmas dinner
« Reply #16 on: 05 January, 2020, 05:18:07 pm »
Christmas lunch, you eat what you like. Nye had his normal lunch of croissant with nutella, carrot, cucumber, apple and celery, I had salad with bonus cheese because it's Christmas. We had pasta for dinner. We all ate lots of chocolate. There is little benefit to insisting that a child eats a large portion before pudding, beyond teaching them to eat more than they want. Give small portions and reward. they are more likely to eat a variety that way.
Quote from: Kim
^ This woman knows what she's talking about.